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27,500 | 2 | Jim Aylesworth has written many books for young readers beyond the ones collected in this treasury, including Wake Up, Little Children, Country Crossing, and Through the Night. Of The Good-Night Kiss, Booklist has said his "melodic story...with its strings of prepositional phrases and its elusive sense of connectedness will mesmerize kids." Mr. Aylesworth marks his proudest accomplishment as having been a first-grade teacher for twenty-five years. He lives with his family in Chicago, Illinois.; Title: Jim Aylesworth's Book Of Bedtime Stories | [
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27,501 | 2 | Helen Oxenbury is the renowned illustrator of many classic picture books, including Were Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Ms. Oxenbury lives with her husband, illustrator John Burningham, in North London.; Title: Tickle, Tickle (Oxenbury Board Books) | [
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27,502 | 0 | Award-winning illustrator Ashley Bryan noticed that Langston Hughes had written five short children's poems about Christmas--and had translated a sixth "from a Puerto Rican Christmas card." Here Bryan collects and illustrates all six in a beautiful book that will bring out the meaning of the season for African American and other children alike. Bryan has a superb--and characteristically African--color sense, using a saturated palette of ochre, chocolate, russet, and yellow-orange, with a counterpoint of bright blues and greens. The pictures of parents, children, and kneeling Magi are an appropriately vivid, joyful evocation of Hughes's simple cadences: "Three Wise Men / One dark like me / Part of His / Nativity." "They did not travel in an airplane / They did not travel by car / They did not travel on a streamline train / They traveled on foot from afar / They traveled on foot from afar." (Ages 3 to 7) --Richard FarrPreSchool-Grade 3?In this lovely book, Bryan has illustrated Langston Hughes's "Carol of the Brown King," "Shepherd's Song at Christmas," "On a Christmas Night," "On a Pallet of Straw," and "The Christmas Story"?plus a translation of a verse from a Puerto Rican Christmas card. The poems are simple and direct, celebrating the first Christmas and the place it holds in lives and hearts today. "Carol of the Brown King" ends with the words, "Three Wise Men,/ One dark like me?/Part of His/Nativity." The paintings, rendered in tempera and gouache, are luminous and bright, and add tremendous appeal to the poems. They also extend the intent of the verses to portray Christmas as having meaning for all people, no matter what their race; the Holy Family is depicted as black, as is a young shepherd who comes to offer gifts to Baby Jesus. In one particularly moving painting, the Baby is sleeping on his mother's back, wrapped in a shawl, while Mary looks over her shoulder at readers, cowrie shells in her braided hair. Even very young children will enjoy the short poems and colorful illustrations, and beginning readers will have no problem reading the selections themselves. A gift to enhance any Christmas collection.?EMCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Carol of the Brown King: Nativity Poems | [
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27,503 | 2 | Publishers Weekly Rylant's confident and sweet-natured girls are the kind of girls-next-door that anyone would want to know better.The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books The charming...stories are going to make second and third grade girls blissfully happy.Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novelMissing Mayreceived the Newbery Medal. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Visit her at CynthiaRylant.com.; Title: A Little Shopping (Cobble Street Cousins) | [
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27,504 | 2 | Grade 4-6-A thought-provoking novel from the author of Frindle (S & S, 1996). Mr. Larson has taught for 20 years and he's burned out. His idea of the open-classroom method is to start his fifth graders on a project and then sit back and relax with coffee and a newspaper. So when Cara Landry writes a newspaper with an editorial about the lack of teaching going on in room 145, the former "Teacher of the Year" gets very upset. Realizing that the girl is stating the truth, he starts a unit on journalism and the class enthusiastically begins a newspaper. With Cara as editor, the project blossoms. However, when she allows a very personal and poignant story on divorce to be printed, the principal sees it as an opportunity to get rid of Mr. Larson. The teacher then uses the proceedings as a real-life lesson on the First Amendment. The children rally to his support, as does the faculty, and at a public hearing he is vindicated. With chapter headings reading like headlines, the plot moves quickly. Bits of humor lighten the theme of "Truth with Mercy." The author has created believable characters, from the beleaguered Mr. Larson to the intelligent and thoughtful Cara. Readers will cheer for both of them as they move toward the satisfying conclusion.Anne Knickerbocker, Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-6-A fifth grader's scathing editorial criticizing her burned-out teacher spurs him to take his duties seriously. A terrific read about free speech, the power of the pen, and the need to temper truth with mercy. (July) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Landry News | [
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27,505 | 2 | PreSchool-Jesse Bear and family are preparing for Halloween. After a trip to Panda Pete's Pumpkin Patch, father and son make a jack-o'-lantern. As Mama Bear approaches, they light it, turn out the lights, and moan to frighten her. She exclaims, "What a scare, Jesse Bear!" Then it's time for costumes. When Jesse Bear dons a mask and looks in the mirror, he frightens himself. His parents say, "What a scare, Jesse Bear!" Back at home after a night of trick-or-treating, the little bear puts on his mask and yells "Booooooooo," to a final chorus of "What a scare, Jesse Bear!" The brief rhyming story is excellent preparation for young children who may be trick-or-treating for the first time. The brightly colored pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are filled with happy faces, showing that Halloween is a time for fun, not frights. The story and pictures fit together perfectly. A worthy choice for circulating and for Halloween storyhours.Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Carlstrom and Degen team up again for the eighth book in their popular Jesse Bear series. This time Jesse embarks on a Halloween adventure that proves both exciting and a bit scary. The lively rhyming verse and animated watercolor illustrations do a wonderful job of revealing Jesse's mixed emotions as he experiences all the traditional Halloween festivities. He's all smiles at the pumpkin farm, but he's scared when he sees himself in his monster bear mask. His fears surface again when he sees his friends in their costumes: "Who are all these creatures? No one looks the same. They screech and scream and yell out, `Boo!' How do they know my name?" But Mom and Dad are there for reassurance, and once back home, Jesse is even feeling confident enough to give Grandma and Grandpa a scare. Another fun-filled episode in a delightful series. Lauren Peterson; Title: What a Scare, Jesse Bear | [
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27,506 | 17 | Young Marcia Shaw is not thrilled to hear that a mother's helper named Fannie Farmer is joining her Victorian household to cook for the growing family. Somehow, though, it's hard to complain when suddenly the blueberry pies are "sweeter than a summer sky" and the biscuits are "small, light, and flaky. Just delicious." In spite of herself, Marcia quickly becomes an avid fan and ardent student of Fannie, even encouraging her to begin writing precise instructions to her cookery magic, thus spawning one of the first published cookbooks, Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, a.k.a. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.Considered the pioneer of the modern recipe, Fannie Farmer transformed countless kitchens into oases of exact measurements and perfect cooking. Deborah Hopkinson's fictionalized account, complete with original griddle cakes recipe, is a warm, humorous take on the real Fannie Farmer. Nancy Carpenter created splendidly original illustrations for the book, manipulating 19th-century etchings and engravings and blending them with her own watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations. Wonderful! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterPrepared to perfection and served up with style, this historical nugget imagines an interlude in the life of cookbook pioneer Fannie Farmer, who, prior to her stint at the Boston Cooking School, worked as a mother's helper. As Hopkinson (Maria's Comet) envisions it, the daughter of the house--who has a touch of the Eloise gene--is not at all pleased with Fannie's arrival. "I'm your helper," the spunky Marcia protests to her mother, but she soon becomes an acolyte: "Fannie seemed like a magician who could make mashed potatoes fluffier than clouds and blueberry pies sweeter than a summer sky." Marcia's many culinary flops, on the other hand, from discovering that she has cracked a rotten egg into her batter to flipping a griddle cake onto the cat, ultimately inspire the unflappable Fannie to write down precise instructions in a precursor to her immortal cookbook. Cleverly served up in seven brief "courses," the proceedings are garnished with Carpenter's irreverent illustrations, which seamlessly incorporate period engravings within pen-and-wash drawings. Her scenes wittily spoof Victorian decorum, whether showing the perfectly coiffed and coutured lady of the house greedily licking her plate or the initially sullen Marcia, slumped in a chair with her back to the reader, her scowl reflected in a pair of water glasses, a gravy boat and a decanter. The biographical afterword and an appended pancake recipe are simply icing on the (griddle) cake. Ages 4-9.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Fannie in the Kitchen : The Whole Story From Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements | [
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27,507 | 13 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this wild escapade, four children pursue their silver-haired, decidedly unstaid Aunt Julie through a succession of multileveled pop-up circus scenes made from dazzlingly bright cut-paper collages with added bits of string and plastic. Each opening features an array of flaps, tabs, and other manipulatives, some of which cause several things to happen at once. Moving effects range from a lunging tiger and a clown lighting a fuse to the explosive climax in which Aunt Julie, shot from a cannon, sails through clouds of purple smoke to land neatly in her seat next to the laughing young folk. Though too fragile to survive more than a few readings, this attention-grabber integrates art, plot line, and moving parts unusually well, resulting in a wonderfully frenetic, interactive ride.John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Circus! : A Pop-Up Adventure | [
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27,508 | 0 | Confronted with the indignities and humiliations of segregated Nashville in the 1950s, young 'Tricia Ann holds her head high and remembers that she is "somebody, a human being--no better, no worse than anybody else in this world." For the first time, 'Tricia Ann has been allowed to venture outside her community all by herself. Her grandmother has prepared her well, fortifying her "with enough love, respect, and pride to overcome any situation." 'Tricia Ann, though frustrated by the Jim Crow laws that forbid her, as an African American, to enter certain restaurants and hotels, or even to sit on park benches marked "For Whites Only," rises above her pain and makes her way to one of the only places in the city that welcomes her with open arms: the public library.Drawing on her own Nashville childhood, Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia C. McKissack (The Dark- Thirty) brings the injustices of segregation to life in this bittersweet picture book. Illustrator Jerry Pinkney, four-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and four-time Caldecott Honor Medalist, captures the spirit of the '50s with his lovely watercolors. McKissack and Pinkney previously collaborated on Mirandy and Brother Wind. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie CoulterMcKissack draws from her childhood in Nashville for this instructive picture book. "I don't know if I'm ready to turn you loose in the world," Mama Frances tells her granddaughter when she asks if she can go by herself to "Someplace Special" (the destination remains unidentified until the end of the story). 'Tricia Ann does obtain permission, and begins a bittersweet journey downtown, her pride battered by the indignities of Jim Crow laws. She's ejected from a hotel lobby and snubbed as she walks by a movie theater ("Colored people can't come in the front door," she hears a girl explaining to her brother. "They got to go 'round back and sit up in the Buzzard's Roost"). She almost gives up, but, buoyed by the encouragement of adult acquaintances ("Carry yo'self proud," one of her grandmother's friends tells her from the Colored section on the bus), she finally arrives at Someplace Special a place Mama Frances calls "a doorway to freedom" the public library. An afterword explains McKissack's connection to the tale, and by putting such a personal face on segregation she makes its injustices painfully real for her audience. Pinkney's (previously paired with McKissack for Mirandy and Brother Wind) luminescent watercolors evoke the '50s, from fashions to finned cars, and he captures every ounce of 'Tricia Ann's eagerness, humiliation and quiet triumph at the end. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Goin' Someplace Special | [
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27,509 | 13 | E.L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year. In 1968, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named a Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for The View from Saturday. Among her other acclaimed books are Silent to the Bone, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, and The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.; Title: The Second Mrs. Gioconda | [
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27,510 | 2 | Fifth-grader Jack Rankin's father is the janitor of the junior-high school. That wouldn't be so bad if nobody knew about it. But on October 5, disaster strikes when Lenny Trumbull throws up his cafeteria ravioli: Jack's dad appears on the scene with a mop and says, "Hi, son." Jack loves his father and is proud of him, but he knows a giant letter L for loser has just been branded on his forehead. To make matters worse, Jack, furious when the inevitable stream of ridicule begins, blindly crashes into his bucket-bearing dad in the hallway, unleashing laughter, clapping, and plenty of water all around. Jack's anger is now a firestorm, and as author Andrew Clements so vividly phrases it: "The sizzling chunks of Jack's burning rage stuck to his father--like gobs of well-chewed watermelon bubble gum."Jack's fury manifests itself into the perfect crime--a carefully premeditated, 13-piece Bubblicious attack on an innocent music-room chair that results in a sticky, gooey, smelly web that only a janitor would have the skills to remove. The "sweet smell of victory" diffuses quickly, however, when Jack is condemned to after-school gum-removal duty for the next three weeks. Stickier still is how this is going to play out at home with his mom and dad.The after-school hours Jack spends scraping gum off furniture prove to be eye-opening. He develops a scholarly interest in gum excavation, and has plenty of time to make a list of ways he is not like his dad the janitor. But one day--first in a forgotten underground tunnel and then on a long truck-ride home--he discovers that there is more to his good-hearted, strong, unassuming father than he had ever even thought to imagine. Clements, a former public-school teacher and author of the bestselling Frindle and The Landry News, has a knack for getting to the heart of things while keeping the story buoyant. Readers of all ages will think twice about what kind of people (outside of their parental or occupational roles) their own parents might be. (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin SnelsonAs he did in Frindle and The Landry News, Clements here puts an intelligent and credible fifth-grader at the center of a memorable novel. As the book opens, Jack, after much careful planning, is executing the "perfect crime": he assembles the biggest, stickiest wad of gum imaginable and affixes it to the desk in the back row of the music room. Why? The novel then flashes back to the moment when Jack's father, John, the head janitor, comes into his classroom to clean up vomit and calls Jack "son." At that point, "Jack felt like a giant letter had been branded on his forehead--L, for Loser." When Jack gets caught and the vice principal assigns him to three weeks' duty of scraping gum from school property after school, Jack decides, "There was only one person to blame for the whole mess.... Thanks again, Dad." Clements slowly builds an even, affecting narrative to reveal how Jack comes to better know and appreciate John, effectively drawing a parallel between this father-son relationship and John's relationship with his own father. The author adds a mystery to the mix when the boy discovers keys in the janitor's closet, which unlock literal doors to his understanding of his father. The author's uncanny ability to capture the fragile transformation from child to adolescent and its impact on family relationships informs every aspect of the novel. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Janitor's Boy | [
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27,511 | 0 | Grade 2-5-During a school trip to a museum exhibit, Josh is transported back in time, accompanied by a wax figure of Albert Einstein that comes to life. Double-page spreads each depict significant scenes from key events or social conditions of the 20th century, including the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and lunch-counter conversations from the Depression. Much of the text is shown in dialogue balloons. Street conversations from "The Roaring Twenties" mention the stock-market boom, Prohibition, flappers, and the Charleston. While few details are given, each reference is made in context ("Why doncha come over tonight? We got a new radio. We can listen to Amos and Andy"). The scenes convey the general flavor of the time periods and may inspire readers to seek out more information. The bottom strip of each two-page spread features a time line with dates, illustrations, and brief text, resulting in a design that is a bit overwhelming and sometimes confusing. A few references in the time line will mean nothing to readers ("Truman Capote writes In Cold Blood," "Berlin Airlift 272,264 flights") without elaboration. The conversations that Josh and Einstein overhear might also leave readers baffled at times. On the other hand, the wealth of fast facts and varied, colorful illustrations do convey the excitement and dazzling changes the century has brought. A lively, but limited introduction to history.Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.What The Century (1998) does for adults, Harness (Ghosts of the White House, 1998, etc.) undertakes for children in this look at the past 100 years of US history. The trek through the past begins when a tour guide addresses a classroom of students, while a lone boy finds himself facing Albert Einstein, who whisks him through the vast and varied landscape of yesteryear. The chronicle begins in 1903 when the Wright brothers achieved flight and ends on New Year' Day, 2000. In between, every page is packed to bulging with information, including a detailed, illustrated timeline that has a pleasing, if capricious emphasis on the publication of various children's books. The lavish, uneven artwork shows Harness's enthusiasm for her subject, but some of the spreads are so densely packed as to inspire claustrophobia. The speech balloons included in the illustrations successfully breath life and immediacy into the jumble of facts by conveying the attitudes and habits of particular generations. The potent lesson of the journey is brought home when the boy muses: ``If everything that happens comes out of what happened before, then what we do now will be important later on, right? So maybe we kind of haunt the future?'' He's right, and that kind of insight makes this book appropriate for historical overviews or as a reference tool. (glossary, bibliography, maps) (Picture book. 7-10) -- Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Ghosts of the Twentieth Century | [] | Validation |
27,512 | 13 | "[Rockwell's] great talent was that his paintings told stories without using a single word," writes Gherman (E.B. White: Some Writer!) in this anecdotal biography. Her well-chosen words join with crisp reproductions of his art to tell a heartening story of this devoted chronicler of American social history who paid tribute to "average people doing average things"--among them: Rosie the Riveter taking a lunch break (1943), a boy heading off to college in Breaking Home Ties (1954) and African-American student Ruby Bridges going to an integrated school (1964). Sketching his childhood, Gherman explains that, unlike his athletic older brother, Rockwell was skinny and clumsy, but he drew effortlessly and knew "that was what he wanted to do with his life." At 15, he quit high school to enter art school and later attended the Art Students League in New York. The author offers edifying particulars about the mechanics of Rockwell's painting; especially skilled at drawing children, he for years insisted on working from live models and later realized the efficiency and advantages of painting from photographs. Including a number of his celebrated covers for the Saturday Evening Post, of which he produced 332 over almost 50 years, the volume validates a nickname Rockwell earned early on in his career: "the kid with the camera eye." Gherman brings Rockwell into sharp focus here. Ages 8-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-8-Gherman follows the artist's life from his humble beginnings to his success and, finally, to his death in 1978. The format of the biography is appealing and attractive. The pages are replete with color reproductions of Rockwell's paintings as well as photographs of the man and his family. The text is well researched and authentic; the writing style is free-flowing and the words capture the naturalness of Rockwell's paintings. Public libraries and school libraries will want to add this fascinating, informative, and inspiring biography to their collections.Patricia Mahoney Brown, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With A Brush | [
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27,513 | 2 | New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan has crafted a riveting story, reminiscent of the work of Thomas Hardy, that's shimmering with the romanticism of a fairy tale but told with the vivid detail and suspense of a modern novel. In an ancient time, a newlywed girl is taken to a seaside thatched cottage by her much older husband. His drunken lovemaking repels her, but Marnie must endure because he is the lord's middle son and she has married him to save her family from starvation. When he is killed in a fall, she feels more release than grief, in spite of the village rumors that she caused his death with a witch's curse. Suspicions grow when she befriends an outcast, a "mad" boy called Raver whose rages and yammerings look to villagers like the work of the devil. But Marnie realizes that the boy is deaf, and his bursts of anger come from his inability to communicate. With the help of the kindly and wise village priest, she begins to invent a sign language for him. A tender love grows between them in the cottage, but Marnie still fears the marriage bed. Meanwhile, the scandalized villagers spy on the "witch," and at last force her to endure the bloodcurdling ordeal of trial by hot iron. Readers will gobble up this entrancing story, and may want to move on to Cynthia Voigt's Jackaroo, Michael Cadnum's In a Dark Wood, and perhaps Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. (Ages 12 to 15) --Patty CampbellJordan (Winter of Fire) transports readers to a craggy seaside town for this sweeping story of a blossoming friendship between a young woman outsider and a young man whom the townsfolk deem mad. Marnie arrives in the village of Torcurra to live in a rundown and isolated cottage with her new husband, Isake Isherwood, the son of a nobleman. After a mere two days of marriage, Isake dies in a freak accident for which the villagers unfairly blame Marnie, whom they suspect is a witch. In this hostile environment the parish priest and an outcast boy Marnie dubs Raven are the young widow's only allies. She realizes that Raven is deaf rather thanAas the superstitious townsfolk believeApossessed by demons, and develops a sign language with which the two young people communicate (fueling suspicions of witchcraft). Jordan blends a zealous supporting cast with the flavor of Hawthorne with the societal forces of Hardy as she plays out Marnie's tortuous fate. A few elements may be familiar to adult readers (e.g., a mysterious hidden treasure), but Marnie's ordeal at the hands of witch-hunters and Raven's efforts to learn to communicate make for riveting reading. The land itself takes on a hypnotic presence, culminating in a primal dance on a Stonehenge-like stage. Even if readers see a few developments coming, the anticipation is pure pleasure. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Raging Quiet | [
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27,514 | 0 | Grade 4-6-The year is 1927. After months of rain, the Mississippi River is flooding. The water is almost up to the doors of the houses in which Molly Bride and Garrett Wood live. Molly, who is black, and Garrett, who is white, have been saving every stray nickel or penny they earn for great plans when they get older and have hidden the money deep in the bayou. When the flood threatens to wash it away, the children get on their homemade raft to pole over to save it. Unfortunately, the raft is pulled into the flood's current, and they are in for a wild and dangerous ride. Although the story starts out slowly, once the two friends are swept away, it becomes a real page-turner. Every chapter contains a life-threatening struggle. Molly's fight with a cottonmouth is particularly gripping. This would make a great booktalk, particularly when paired with Patricia Lauber's Flood: Wrestling with the Mississippi (National Geographic, 1996), a nonfiction title that's also about the 1927 flood.Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kathleen Dueys works include the middle grade American Diaries and Survivors series, as well as the well-reviewed chapter book series The Unicorns Secret and its companion series, The Faeries Promise. She is also the National Book Awardnominated author of Skin Hunger. She lives in Fallbrook, California.; Title: Flood : Mississippi 1927 | [
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27,515 | 11 | Setting this colorful story in the Spice Islands, Sierra (Nursery Tales Around the World) incorporates motifs found in Cinderella folktales from various parts of the world as well as elements of Diamonds and Toads-type fables. Overworked by her conniving stepmother and stepsister, Damura one day loses her tattered sarong in the river. When a crocodile responds to her pleas for help, Damura remembers her late mother's advice to treat wild creatures with respect. She talks politely with Grandmother Crocodile, who fetches for her "a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky." Damura's deceitful stepsister soon pretends she has lost a sarong, too, in hopes of receiving an equally lovely new one, but the crocodile gives her a sarong that turns into a filthy rag swarming with leeches. Later, when the prince invites all the young women to dance for him at the palace, the crocodile produces a sarong of pure gold for Damura, plus slippers to match. A few departures from the standard Cinderella story will keep readers on their toes. Sierra's confident delivery finds its match in Ruffins's (Running the Road to ABC) primitivist acrylic art, which captures the lush vegetation, sparkling multitoned waters and the people's patterned clothing while retaining an essential calm and spareness. Strategic use of spot art and small silhouettes in addition to full-page and full-spread compositions creates a visual syncopation. Even with an abundance of available Cinderella stories, this version is memorably vivid. Ages 4-8. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-A handsome Cinderella variant from the Spice Islands. Young Damura is advised by her dying mother to be kind to all wild creatures. Later on, in an interesting twist, the girl is bribed with a doll to plead her would-be stepmother's case to her father. After the marriage, she is mistreated by the woman and her daughter. She loses her old sarong while washing laundry in the river. Hearing her sobs, a crocodile offers to retrieve it if the girl will rock her baby, and returns with a silver dress. When the greedy sister tries the same thing but is cruel to the baby and crisp with Grandmother Crocodile, she wins a leech-covered rag. Years later, when a prince seeks a bride, the stepsister wears the silver dress but Grandmother Crocodile supplies Damura with the essentials. After the prince claims his bride with a lost slipper and the two are married, the jealous stepmother and her daughter push Damura into the river where she is eaten by a crocodile. In a funny sequence, Grandmother confronts her river children and a fat crocodile is forced to cough out Damura. Ruffins's handsome acrylic paintings reflect the Indonesian love of color and pattern. Page design varies to include bordered illustrations, vignettes, and several eloquent silhouettes. Sierra's retelling is strong and fun to read aloud. A useful author's note sorts out variations in motifs across cultures. A fine addition to the groaning shelf of Cinderella stories.Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story | [
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27,516 | 5 | From the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes the story of a baker who invents the pretzel. Carle's whimsical, frenetic collages seem fresh from the oven, even though they were first published 25 years ago. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Eric Carle is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of more than seventy books for very young children, including The Tiny Seed, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me,and his most well-known title, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old. He studied at the prestigious art school, the Akademie der Bildenden Knste, in Stuttgart, before returning to the United States, where he worked as a graphic designer for the New York Times and later as art director for an advertising agency. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, now considered a modern classic, has sold nearly fifty million copies and has been translated into sixty-five languages. With his late wife, Barbara, Eric Carle cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2002. Eric Carle lives in the Florida Keys.; Title: Walter the Baker (The World of Eric Carle) | [
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27,517 | 2 | This tender, funny sequel to Lottie's New Beach Towel has all the charm and quirkiness of the original tale about this winsome chickenAand, because it has a more linear plot, it may prove even more accessible and appealing to children. This time Lottie's best friend, Herbie the duck, takes center stage. Arriving at Lottie's for his customary morning visit, Herbie is discomfited by the unexpected presence of Dodo, a new neighbor. Believing that Lottie prefers Dodo, Herbie entertains mildly vengeful fantasies (wishing Dodo would get seasick when they all take a boat ride; imagining that no one would care if he were dead) and starts acting out (blowing bubbles in his lemonade; donning a flimsy disguise in hopes that Dodo won't recognize him). However, while Lottie is out of town, it is up to Herbie to help Dodo out of a tight spot, and the emotional logjam is broken. Aided by a few well-chosen words from Dodo, Herbie realizes that his place in Lottie's heart is secure and that there is room enough for Dodo, too. Mathers offers a wise look at the often contrary and confusing dynamics of close friendships. Humor abounds in both the droll text and the tidily boxed artAparticularly irresistible are images of the self-pitying Herbie in his ridiculously transparent false-nose-and-mustache getup and, in a fit of pique over Dodo's stylish new glasses, dramatically marching with eyes closed and arms outstretched, as if blind. Mathers's insights into friendship are lightly though surely delivered. Ages 3-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-K-Lottie the chicken and Herbie the duck, introduced in Lottie's New Beach Towel (Atheneum, 1998), have their friendship put to the test when Dodo, a bird who hails from Germany, comes to town and Herbie begins to feel left out by the camaraderie that Lottie and Dodo seem to enjoy. The glamorous, worldly, and resourceful bird provokes some petulant and uncharitable emotions in an insecure Herbie until he has the opportunity to come to her aid. Dodo sings his praises and repeats some kind words that Lottie has also spoken about her friend. This tender scene paves the way for a successful relationship among the three birds of a feather. This predictable, comforting story has a message of hope for children learning to deal with the sometimes thorny issues of friendship. While the plot lacks some of the whimsy and humor found in the previous story, this reassuring tale offers its own simple pleasures. Boxed, uncomplicated watercolor illustrations are loaded with child appeal. The basic shapes, lively coloration, and winsome details of the visual narrative successfully expand on the text. This title should convince the picture-book crowd that three can be company.Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CACopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Lottie's New Friend | [
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] | Train |
27,518 | 13 | English translations appear alongside the Spanish poems and tales that explore everything from a table set for supper to a peach tree to a legend of rabbit's long ears. The selections include writings by Rosario Castellanos, Jose Juan Tablada, Octavio Paz and many others. Ages 8-up. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists (English and Spanish Edition) | [
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27,519 | 18 | Underdeveloped poetic conceits short-circuit this profile of civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Marcie, an African-American child, is waiting for the bus to school when a strange bus pulls up; for some reason, she boards it. There is no driver, but the bus itself talks. It informs Marcie that she is riding on "the Rosa Parks bus," the very vehicle that Parks had been riding in 1955 when, refusing to give up her seat to a white man, she helped trigger the Montgomery Bus Boycott. (In a bizarre irony, Marcie is made to give up her seat, which is ostensibly intended for Parks.) The bus then recounts Parks's childhood, education and tireless work as a civil rights activist; Marcie's fellow passengers serve as chorus, intermittently chiming in, "Amen! Amen!... We know, we were there." The account is full of hard-hitting information but suffers from confusing prose ("The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the beginning of a national movement in which people of every race organized protests against segregation in their own towns"). Finally, Parks boards the bus, and it emerges that Marcie's fellow riders include Parks's husband and Martin Luther King Jr.; in a throwaway ending, Marcie debarks at her school ("I can't wait to tell my class about this!"). Ringgold's paintings help animate this uneven tale, but a depiction of the bus with facial features, hair and hat compromises her powerful folk-art style. Other picture books chronicle Parks's life more lucidly; this is a disappointingly bumpy ride. Ages 5-9. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-A talking bus is literally the vehicle for this picture-book biography. Marcie, on her way to school, finds herself on a driverless bus occupied by a group of unfamiliar passengers who don't seem to notice she's there. A disembodied voice tells her that this used to be the Cleveland Avenue bus but is now the Rosa Parks bus, and then launches into an account of the woman's life. Ringgold recounts the dramatic events triggered by Parks's refusal to give up her seat: the Montgomery bus boycott; the leadership, persecution, and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Supreme Court decision to ban bus segregation; and public recognition of the woman who started it all. The story ends when Parks herself enters the bus for a birthday celebration with the passengers who are now revealed as personages from her history. While the artifice of the talking bus and a few minor lapses in logic sometimes detract from a solid telling, the story does much to humanize a larger-than-life figure. Ringgold's colorful, textured acrylic-on-canvas paper paintings done in a na?f style are a perfect complement to the stark realism of the events and the simple dignity of the subject. Color and line are used to suggest ideas, such as the turbulent purple, black, blue, and chalky white and the jagged forms depicting the Ku Klux Klan and bombings. Text and art harmonize, with print changing from black to white and appearing on each page in an interesting variety of layouts. An accessible telling and beautiful illustrations result in a worthy contribution to this developing genre.Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks | [
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27,520 | 2 | George Stanley was a Professor of African and Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics at Cameron University. In between prepping class lectures and grading papers, he found the time to write for children. He was also the author of Night Fires and the Third-Grade Detectives series.; Title: The Cobweb Confession (Third-Grade Detectives) | [
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27,521 | 0 | When Evan, a fatherless boy, senses danger one Christmas Eve, his prayers help save his favorite cowboy, Cully, from a chilly death. They also set in motion a chain of happy events for Evan and his ma. The somewhat overwrought tale is nonetheless fluidly told, and Florczak's (previously teamed with Wood for The Rainbow Bridge) realistic oil paintings, aglow with light and shadow, make ample use of the Western setting. Scenes of cowboys camped around a fire inject a dose of humor, while stunning paintings of Cully's riderless horse on a snowy cliff and Evan's mother strolling with Cully under leafy birch trees convey the dramatic events. All ages.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 2-4-Reading like a script for a 1950s-era TV Western, this attractive book contains some unfortunate flaws. Every year since Evan's pa died, Cully, who was the man's best friend, has come to spend the winter helping the boy and his mother work their ranch. This year, stopping for Evan's Christmas present, a "burnished silver bridle," has made him late, and illness causes the cowboy to fall from his horse. Evan concludes that Cully is in danger, convinces his mother to ride out with him in the snowy night, and finds him on Lone Pine Ridge. After a long recuperation, Cully makes plans to go but Evan asks him to stay, marry his mother, and become his father. All ends happily with the new family celebrating a cowboy Christmas under the stars. Cully's trail tales and Florczak's evocative, romanticized oil paintings are the high points in this predictably plotted story. However, depicting a regular leather bridle instead of a "burnished silver" one and several clichd statements like, "He may not make it, son," are disappointing.-L. F.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: A Cowboy Christmas: The Miracle at Lone Pine Ridge | [
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27,522 | 7 | Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938) was a talented cartoonist, illustrator, and storyteller. He began writing stories about Raggedy Ann in the early part of the century as a way to entertain his ailing daughter, Marcella. Over the years he wrote and illustrated more than forty books about the popular rag doll and her brother, Raggedy Andy.; Title: Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Nice Police Officer | [
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] | Test |
27,523 | 5 | "In this witty version of the classic fairy tale, set among America's amber waves of grain, Grandma drives a tractor and doesn't think much of pesky predators," said PW. Ages 5-10. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc."School Library Journal" An ideal read-aloud choice.; Title: Little Red Riding Hood - A Newfangled Prairie Tale (Aladdin Picture Books) | [
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27,524 | 18 | Beatrice Gormley has written a number of books for young readers, including several titles in the Historys All-Stars series, as well as biographies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and John McCain. She lives in Westport, Massachusetts.; Title: Louisa May Alcott (Childhood of Famous Americans) | [
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27,525 | 7 | Jimmy Zangwow is bound and determined to get his hands on his favorite snack: Moon Pies and milk. After his mother refuses his pre-dinner request, Jimmy stomps off to sulk aboard his secret project, a flying junk jumbilee jalopy. "Holy macaroni!" The next thing he knows he's hurtling off to space, toward the moon... and "Mmm! Moon Pies." A hilariously digressive dialogue with sleepy, hard-of-hearing Mr. Moon results in Jimmy scoring a thousand Moon Pies. But our hungry hero's troubles are not over yet. Run-ins with Mars Men and the dreaded Grimble Grinder are yet in store. And then there's the issue of how to get back to Earth and his brussels-sprout-noodle-bean casserole dinner.Tony DiTerlizzi paints like a very, very twisted Norman Rockwell. His freckle-faced Jimmy Zangwow, clad in denim shorts, airplane goggles, and red cowboy boots, appeals to every adventurer, big or small, humanoid or alien. This zany escapade proves that with powerful motivation (and what could be a stronger incentive than the promise of Moon Pies?), a generous heart, and a resourceful mind, anything is possible. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie CoulterThis delightful romp follows red-haired, freckle-faced, goggle-wearing Jimmy Zangwow, budding inventor and adventurer, on a passionate search for his favorite treat, which his mother forbids him to eat before dinner. DiTerlizzi gets the details just right in his debut book. Framed in a white border, the opening illustrations evoke advertisements from the '50s, complete with Jimmy's mother standing on the checkered linoleum kitchen floor in dress, apron and bedroom slippers, fixing dinner, glass milk bottles on the counter beside her. No sooner does the disgruntled Jimmy board his "junk jumbilee jalopy" and say "I wish I could go to the moon and get my own Moon Pies" than the machine rockets off the ground. The illustrations then become full-spread chronicles of the hero's travels (various continents are labeled below, and the equator is clearly visible). First he visits Mr. Moon (a crescent-shaped fellow depicted as a giant visage, sporting spectacles, a star-spangled nightcap and green crater-capped pajamas) and acquires 1,000 Moon Pies; next the Milky Way in search of milk; then Mars, where he encounters Mars Men and the fearsome Grimble Grinder. Jimmy discovers his love of Moon Pies is universal; he makes a number of extraterrestrial friends and saves the day by giving away every one of his treats. His friends then combine their efforts to send him back just in time for dinner and that special dessert. Children will see the galaxy in a whole new light after this wild flight. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure | [
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27,526 | 11 | Curry (Back in the Beforetime) retells 27 Algonquian creation, pourquoi and trickster tales in this well-rounded collection. Each conveys an underlying respect for all creatures and their interconnectedness, a belief held by various Algonquian nations, including the Blackfoot, Shawnee and Pequot tribes. Another recurring theme, that in the past all beings possessed a mystical ability to change shapes, comes through in the title story: when a flood destroys the world, an enormous ancient turtle rescues Nanabush (a manito or spirit) and all the surviving animals from the tallest tree; he creates the "Second World" atop his enormous shell. ("That is why the Lenap? call this earth they live on Turtle Island. And when the earth quakes, they say, it is the Great Turtle, moving in his sleep.") Other tales offer insight into the nations' governing practices, as in "Why Blackfeet Never Kill Mice," when a human chief helps settle an argument between the animal and bird council with a battle of wits. The closing "Glooskap's Farewell Gifts" explores the relationship between man and God (Glooskap). Brief information about each tribe's history and storytelling traditions follows in an afterword. While humor infuses many of the tales, the cartoonish black-and-white illustrations, unfortunately, take the characters a bit too lightly, echoing 1940s movie characterizations of the Algonquians. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-6-These more than two dozen traditional tales will delight any storyteller. Ranging from the strange "The Bear Maiden" (Ojibway) and the delightful "Beaver and Muskrat Change Tails" (Malecite) to a story of transformation, "How Glooskap Defeated the Great Bullfrog" (Passamaquoddy), every story is written in simple, easily flowing language that's perfect for telling. Beginning with "The Creator Makes the World" (Lenap?) and ending with "Glooskap's Farewell Gifts" (Micmac/Passamaquoddy), the stories are arranged in a logical order. Sometimes two or three together lead into one another very smoothly through similar themes or characters. This collection offers a selection as broad as Joseph Bruchac's Native American Animal Stories (Fulcrum, 1992) and as entertaining as Seneca Indian Stories (Greenfield Review, 1995) by Ha-yen-doh-nees (Leo Cooper) and Maggi Cunningham's The Cherokee Tale-Teller (Dillon, 1978; o.p.). A brief introduction gives some background on the Algonquian peoples, especially the Lenap?, and is accompanied by a simple map showing locations in the United States and Canada of "Some of the Algonquian Peoples." Back matter includes "About the Storytellers," which gives a paragraph or two about each of the 17 source tribes represented by the selections. "About the Stories" lists sources from which each tale is derived. Curry has done a fine job of providing a wealth of tales ready for presentation by other tellers.Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Turtle Island: Tales of the Algonquian Nations | [
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] | Train |
27,527 | 14 | PreSchool-Grade 1?A lift-the-flap book that relies on the charm of these television characters without conveying what makes them so popular. The Rugrats and their parents have come to Tommy's house to decorate the tree. When the babies overhear that the mistletoe is missing, they institute a search for the "Mistle Toad." Upstairs and down, under flaps and everywhere they look for this dangerous creature. Finally, Tommy's mother notices that he is under the mistletoe and gives him a kiss. The last flap explains what mistletoe is. While 54 flaps may be too much to resist, this book doesn't offer much beyond the gimmick. The illustrations have the flat, busy, cartoon quality of the TV show and will appeal to young fans; however, most libraries would be better served by just buying a Rugrats video.?ACCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Merry Christmas, Rugrats!: Rugrats Christmas Lift-The-Flap | [
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27,528 | 2 | PreSchool-A book that will please some of Asch's fans while perplexing others. The unlikely sight of a kangaroo hopping past their house convinces Bear and Little Bird that they must be dreaming. When his feathered friend suggests that they wake themselves up, Bear says, "Why not have some fun first?" So, they eat their food stores, make a mess, and go for a swim. In the meantime, a zookeeper comes searching and finds the escaped kangaroo wandering in the disheveled house. Believing she must be responsible for the mess, the zookeeper, depicted as a pig, quickly sets everything straight. Bear and Little Bird return home, happy (but not surprised) to find normalcy restored. They settle down for a nap, exhausted from their "dream" adventures. As always, Asch's illustrations are childlike and charming. Soft colors and rounded shapes emphasize the coziness of Bear's home. Visual jokes include showing the escaped kangaroo through Bear's window as the friends settle down for their (real) nap at the end. Young children will enjoy the opportunity to revisit familiar characters; for some young listeners, however, the question of whether the story is in fact dream or reality may cause confusion. Libraries in which the series is particularly popular may wish to add this title while others will want to wait for the next installment in hopes of a more straightforward and satisfying story.Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Age 3^-6. Unbeknownst to Moonbear and Little Bird, a kangaroo and her joey have escaped from the zoo and have bounced into Moonbear's yard. The two friends mistakenly think they must be dreaming (because why else would a kangaroo be hopping there?) and decide to make the most of their new, dreamlike state. Moonbear and Little Bird begin their adventure by eating all their stockpiled honey and birdseed, and then, delighting in this mischief, they mess up Moonbear's house. They don't have to suffer the consequences because they only need to pinch themselves to wake up! Asch humorously wraps up the story by introducing the zookeeper, who creates order out of the chaos. Asch's familiar restrained illustrations, computer-generated in Photoshop, neatly reflect the story's understated humor and the beloved silliness of Moonbear's world. This title will be welcomed by fans of the earlier books about Moonbear and his friends. Kathy Broderick; Title: MOONBEAR'S DREAM (Moonbear Books) | [
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] | Validation |
27,529 | 11 | Susan Kuklinis a noted author and photographer of books for young children as well as for older readers. Her seven previous photo essays for Bradbury Press have been hailed as "models of photojournalism for young readers"(The New York Times Book Review),as "notable for their realistic approaches, relatively detailed text, and attractive format"(ALA Booklist),and as "excellent additions to any library"(School Library Journal).Her highly praised books for older readers includeFighting BackandWhat Do I Do Now?(both Putnam). Ms. Kuklin lives in New York City with her husband, Bailey.; Title: How My Family Lives in America (Aladdin Picture Books) | [
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27,530 | 2 | Helen Oxenbury is the renowned illustrator of many classic picture books, including Were Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Ms. Oxenbury lives with her husband, illustrator John Burningham, in North London.; Title: All Fall Down (Oxenbury Board Books) | [
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27,531 | 5 | Christmastime is filled with special traditions, both secular and sacred. In Joy to the World, editor Ann Keay Beneduce compiles a host of holiday customs, beliefs, and folklore. Each chapter introduces the history and symbolism behind a familiar Christmas symbol--the star, the manger, the gift givers, the tree--followed by biblical passages, carols, stories, poems, and plays, by such distinguished and diverse authors as Truman Capote, Beatrix Potter, E.E. Cummings, Hans Christian Andersen, and of course Charles Dickens. Find such haunting classics as "The Gift of the Magi" mingling with the poignant "Tailor of Gloucester," and nestled between everyone's favorite traditional Christmas carols: "Away in a Manger," "O Christmas Tree," and "Silent Night." A final section focuses on Christmas celebrations around the world. Whether Christmas is a solemn occasion or a gala festivity in your family, there's something for everyone in this golden treasury. And without a doubt, award-winning artist Gennady Spirin's exquisite old-fashioned watercolors will bring joy to everyone's world. (All ages) --Emilie CoulterGr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. Beneduce offers a fine selection of traditional Christmas stories, carols, and poems in this handsome volume, which is accessible to a wide age range. Although some of the selections, such as O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," and Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree," are abridged, and others are excerpted from longer works, such as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, most of the readings appear in full. Spirin's graceful paintings, with their gold tones and look of bygone days, create a richly detailed and dignified setting for the writing. A lovely Christmas gift book that libraries may want to bolster their collections. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Joy to the World: A Family Christmas Treasury | [
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27,532 | 2 | Readers be warned, this is lump-in-the-throat material. Borden (Albie the Lifeguard; The Little Ships) tackles a difficult subject not often found in picture books, in a sensitive story about a third-grade class whose teacher is suddenly stricken with cancer. Mrs. Kempczinski's ("Say it like this... Kemp-chin-ski!") students love everything about her, from the plastic worm earrings and candy worms she brings in on Worm Day to the special dances she does when all the homework comes in on time. When "Mrs. K." is hospitalized for cancer treatment, the students rally to her support, sending letters and keeping her updated on what they are learning with her substitute. The day after school ends for the summer, the principal reconvenes the class for a surpriseAMrs. K. is there for a visit. "Her cheeks weren't as chubby as before, but I could still hear all that fun in Mrs. K.'s voice," notes the third-grade narrator, and together Mrs. K.'s students skate through the empty halls, chanting their beloved teacher's name and wishing her luck. Borden's understated prose rings true, and the inherent poignancy in her text is underscored by first-time illustrator Gustavson's expressive watercolors. He does a superb job with the faces in particular, the characters' emotions are carefully nuanced, and his slightly somber palette of grays and earth tones sets the mood without dampening the affection in the story. A thoughtful and original effort on all accounts. Ages 6-10. (May) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-A third-grade girl and her class are enchanted by Mrs. Kempczinski, a self-confident teacher who calls her students explorers and detectives and takes them around the world through books. She punctuates a science unit on worms by wearing plastic worm earrings and providing a candy-worm snack. However, the treat that receives the most applause is the homework dance Mrs. K performs when all of the children turn in their work on time. The students spend a delightful half year with her before the principal explains that she has cancer and is in the hospital. Borden portrays a difficult situation in direct, yet loving, language. Students facing similar circumstances will be comforted by the eventual recovery of the beloved teacher, and those unfamiliar with such a trauma will be touched by a truly endearing story. Gustavson's watercolor illustrations exude all of the warmth and vibrancy of Borden's words. The illustration showing the homework dance is classic. This unique and eloquent story should be a part of every collection.Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Good Luck, Mrs. K.! | [
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27,533 | 0 | Barbara Brenner, William H. Hooks and Betty Boegehold are veterans of the Bank Street College Media Group and between their efforts have hundreds of children's publications to their credit, including the ALA Notable books Pioneer Cat (Hooks) and Wagon Wheels (Brenner).; Title: If You Were There in 1492: Everyday Life in the Time of Columbus | [
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27,534 | 13 | Starred Review. Opulence befitting royalty characterizes Spirin's (The Tale of the Firebird) lush, jewel-hued watercolor-and-colored-pencil interpretation of the beloved carol about the three wise men (and their extensive entourages) who traverse afar. A spread rendered in an antique-like palette and featuring a host of singing, trumpeting angels in an inky, starlit sky marks each refrain of the familiar tune. Although younger readers will need help understanding some of the phrasing, they'll be happy to read or hum along, or just gaze at the sumptuously outfitted parade of camels, elephants, horses and kings making their way to Bethlehem. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.; Title: We Three Kings | [
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27,535 | 2 | Bauer (If You Were Born a Kitten) and Elwell (Three Brave Women) explore the depths, delights and ferocity of the mother-child bond and for the most part, their foray into unabashed emotion works well. Bauer's rhymed text brings to mind the poignant vulnerability of a mash note from a young child: "My mother is pretty./ My mother is brave./ My mother still loves me when I misbehave." But because the sentences are parceled out one per page, the effect is never cloying. Elwell's stunning, diaphanous pastel illustrations flirt with the conventions of calendar art: his characterizations are mostly grounded in a realistic appreciation of the natural world, but the gauzy surfaces and the intensity of the animals' expressions are the stuff of pure romanticism. A tiger mother beams with pride as she carries her pliant cub by the scruff of the neck; a vigilant mother horned owl is regarded with utter adoration by her little puffball baby. Unfortunately, the final sequence, showing a girl creating a greeting card for her mother, lacks the intensity of the animal illustrations; the child's expressions seem a bit clichd. An actual card bearing the same illustration as that on the girl's is included inside the back cover. Ages 1-5.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.PreS-Gr 1-This book captures the warmth of a mother-child relationship in verse and illustrations. Each spread features a full-page picture of a baby animal interacting with its mother, along with a page of text explaining what makes that parent special. "My mother is soft" appears opposite two sheep cuddled together; "My mother is strong" shows a tiger carrying her cub in her mouth; and two owls sitting together on a branch illustrate "My mother watches me long and long." Young children will recognize the parallels between their own families and those of the animals, as a baby bird is given a worm ("My mother feeds me"), and a kangaroo rides safely inside its mother's pouch ("She holds me tight"). The soft focus of Elwell's pastel illustrations is well suited to the gentle rhythms of the text. The end of the book reveals a young girl drawing pictures of the animals, making a card for her mother with the inscription: "My mother is special./My mother is fine./My mother,/my mother,/my mother is mine!" A welcome addition to Mother's Day collections and family storytimes.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, CanadaCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: My Mother is Mine | [
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27,536 | 2 | Helen Oxenbury is the renowned illustrator of many classic picture books, including Were Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Ms. Oxenbury lives with her husband, illustrator John Burningham, in North London.; Title: Clap Hands (Oxenbury Board Books) | [
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27,537 | 2 | George Stanley was a Professor of African and Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics at Cameron University. In between prepping class lectures and grading papers, he found the time to write for children. He was also the author of Night Fires and the Third-Grade Detectives series.; Title: The Puzzle of the Pretty Pink Handkerchief : Ready-for-Chapters | [
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27,538 | 15 | Grade 4-7-A handsome introduction to prehistoric insects and other arthropods. Camper's up-to-date, conversational text and informative captions and data boxes investigate such disparate matters as insect evolution, theories on flight development, continental drift, and fossil formation. While not an in-depth dissertation, there is plenty of meat here for young researchers, assisted by an excellent list of further readings and some Web sites. Kirk's eye-catching, realistic watercolors portray a fascinating array of creatures, some with evolutionary existing descendants: trilobites, ants, eurypterids, and dragonflies among them. Neither an index nor a table of contents is provided, which may cause some dismay, but the chapter headings on every other page (and those nifty illustrations) should assist readers. A colorful time line is appended to assist in placing the discussed creatures in Earth's prehistory, as is a helpful glossary of the many unfamiliar terms. The book is sure to entrance budding entomologists and surprise dinophiles with the Arthropoda's long evolutionary history (which ante- and postdates their beloved beasts by a good many millions of years).Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-5. Camper introduces a variety of insects and their arthropod relatives that lived during prehistoric times. She describes several common bugs--among them, ants, spiders, and cockroaches--still thriving today, as well as other, now extinct creatures such as trilobites and erypterids. She also includes sections on fossil formation, evolution, the location of continents, and geological time. Kirk's brightly colored watercolor illustrations, from large double-page spreads to small inset drawings, add informational value. Many are captioned; unfortunately a few (such as the scene of a prehistoric cave shared by humans and large cockroaches) are melodramatic. There's not enough information to satisfy report writers, but browsers will be captivated by the cover art showing a dragonfly winging its way through a prehistoric forest with its dinner in its clutches, and by the catchy title. This will be popular with dinosaur enthusiasts who are ready to branch out to other prehistoric species. Kay WeismanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives | [
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27,539 | 11 | Burleigh (Flight: The Story of Charles Lindbergh) hits the road with this lively look at a busy day in the life of a big-city bicycle messenger. Just after sunup, Calvin Curbhopper leaves his studio apartment with his yellow bike hoisted onto his shoulder ("Sun, wind, rain, snow,/ Messenger, messenger, gotta go"). By eight a.m., he's made his first delivery and embarked on a frenzied routine of carrying urgent business packages through traffic, tunnels, parking lots and dangerous neighborhoods, even eating his lunch on two wheels. He doesn't slow down until after nightfall, when he rides home, away from the glittering lights ("And then at last it's time to go,/ Calvin Curbhopper, takin' it slow"). The author's spare, rhyming text pedals along at the protagonist's swift pace, giving readers a taste of the messenger's special street rhythms. Root's (Two Cool Cows) dynamic gouaches of a bustling city are further energized by bold patches of sunny yellow paint bathing office buildings, taxicabs and trees. And Calvin's sleek red leggings and helmet are easy to spot as he zags and weaves through crowds of people and clusters of high rises. Ages 5-7. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 5-Burleigh's hip-hop rhyming couplets see a bike messenger through a busy day in a bustling city. "First delivery (eight, no later)/Revolving door and escalator,/Messenger, messenger,/keepin' the groove,/Always, always, on the move." The short text moves quickly and rhythmically, though it falters a couple of times; and is well matched by the illustrations that show a diverse and busy city from many perspectives. Root's full-bleed, double-page gouache spreads have a golden autumn, urban glow, and show Calvin Curbhopper cycling through many different neighborhoods. Questionably, the messenger wears a Walkman while he rides-not only unsafe but illegal. Despite these quibbles, this is a unique and attractive visual and aural perspective of city life that will appeal to a wide age range.Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Messenger, Messenger | [
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27,540 | 2 | "Come hear a song about a baby,/ a very special baby./ Come hear a song about you," begins this heartfelt ode to a baby's first experiences. Bauer's (My Mother Is Mine) simile-laden, simple verses boast songlike rhythms, always ending with the phrase, "we loved you" (e.g., "When you came into our arms,/ slippery as salmon,/ puckered as prunes,/ loud as a lion,/ already we knew,/ we loved you"). Andreasen (A Quiet Place) in perhaps his most intimate work yet, creates oil paintings that soften the baby's features in a series of cascading parallel lines to form an almost impressionistic view of the child. After Bauer extends the invitation with the opening lines, the artist shows a toddler clearly the baby at the book's center poised as if about to hear about his or her babyhood. In the next spread, Andreasen shows the father placing his ear on the mother's very expectant belly; he then uses succeeding illustrations to portray the baby's development, from smiling newborn to endearing toddler. Feathery and heavy brush strokes add texture to paintings that exude an antique quality with their ruddy hues and creamy, pale pink matte borders. The accoutrements of infancy (blocks, pacifier, bib and booties) appear in vignettes beneath each text block to complement the facing illustrations. With its warm words and joyful portraits, this accessible volume will be a favorite among young listeners. Ages 1-5.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reSchool-K-The bright-eyed wonder of babies is fully captured in this loving tribute graced with outstanding illustrations. Each page is a close-up of a single Gerberesque infant whose gradual growth is subtly re-created. The paintings are highly textured; visible brush lines create a sense of movement, of vibrancy just barely contained. The sensation of what it feels like to hold a baby, to touch one, radiate from the page, a joy that adults will surely relish remembering. Children may not have such a visceral reaction to the art, although they will sense the magic. The narrative is framed by an older child who is asked to "Come hear a song about a baby,/a very special baby./Come hear a song about you." This title celebrates all the things parents do with an infant, the snuggling, the clapping, the drying of tears. And why? Because "we loved you," a phrase that is repeated at the end of almost every stanza. This may not be a book that youngsters will ask for again and again, but whenever they're in need of comfort or reassurance, it will relax all defenses.Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Love Song for a Baby | [
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27,541 | 1 | A group of plump porkers try to make a trip to the beach in what PW called "a comical caper cum math lesson." Ages 4-8.Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.School Library Journal An entertaining tool for reinforcing math skills that should be especially useful in a whole-language curriculum.; Title: Pigs on a Blanket (Pigs Will Be Pigs) | [
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27,542 | 0 | "The dialogue is cool, the farce is wild, and kids will appreciate how the damsels in distress make their own happy endings." --Booklist"Recommended." --Publishers WeeklyBruce Lansky, the creator of this series and author of the story "The Girl Who Wanted to Be a Princess" is also the creator and editor of the Girls to the Rescue series and the Can You Solve the Mysteries series. He is also a best-selling children's poet. His poetry anthologies include No More Homework! No More Tests! and Rolling in the Aisles.; Title: Newfangled Fairy Tales Book #2 | [
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27,543 | 0 | This meager volume offers brief, sometimes sketchy descriptions of 15 American emblems that range from specific objects (the Liberty Bell, the Mayflower) to more generic staples of American history and lore (the Pilgrim, log cabin, buffalo, cowboy). The Wests (Braving the North Atlantic) present some lively snippets of trivia, including an explanation of the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" (e.g., "macaroni" was the name of a hairstyle fashionable in mid-18th-century London). Unfortunately, grammatical flaws and wordiness plague many of the entries; discussing "the minuteman," the authors write, "Unlike some nations where a full-time professional army protects its citizens, American soldiers serve a series of short-term enlistments and have always seen themselves as citizens trained to fight to protect their country." And the text contains numerous throwaway generalizations: "Today, no patriotic gathering would be complete without an appearance by someone dressed as Uncle Sam." The high point of the book is Manson's (Black Swan/ White Crow) art. Painted woodcuts, these textured, predominantly earth-tone pictures successfully evoke various eras and are more likely than the text to stir feelings of patriotism in young readers. Ages 7-up. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-3-The Wests present a wide assortment of symbols that range from expected favorites such as the American flag, the Liberty Bell, and the Statue of Liberty to less familiar emblems, such as the log cabin, the peace pipe, the buffalo, and Smokey the Bear. Each entry is accompanied by a page-long description and a lovely woodcut painted in rich earth tones. While interesting and informative, the discussions are too abbreviated to use for reports. The Liberty Bell essay highlights the famous crack without naming any events that the bell commemorated. An article on the American buffalo mentions the buffalo nickel as a "true American coin," without saying that it is no longer minted. While there are several titles that cover individual symbols in greater depth, this inviting compendium provides an attractive introduction for young readers.Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Uncle Sam & Old Glory : Symbols of America | [
54003
] | Validation |
27,544 | 0 | In this small gem, childlike prayers and paintings for each day of the week illuminate an understanding of God as one who nurtures, teaches, protects, comforts and blesses children and their loved ones. The Newbery-winning author fashions simple rhymed verse that young readers may easily commit to memory: "Monday make me good and kind/ to all creatures that I find./ Help me love God's whole creation./ Make my life a celebration." As in other works Rylant has illustrated (Dog Heaven), the paintings here resemble children's artwork. Each is idealized: the girl petting the bunny under the apple tree, the boy flying his kite with his dog. Rylant's poignant renditions, with their warm, crayon-box colors, present a world safe for exploring, for pondering and for praying. Her work offers both a model for how to pray to God, and the assurance that God's love and grace provide the foundation on which all prayers begin. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1-Similar to Rylant's Bless Us All: A Child's Yearbook of Blessings (S & S, 1998), this vibrantly illustrated, appealing book contains one rhyming prayer for each day of the week. Each simply written verse has a different focus. "Monday make me/good and kind/to all creatures/that I find." Tuesday's prayer is for faith, caring, wisdom, and sharing. On Wednesday, "Give me gladness,/give me grace./Shine your love/upon my face." Concisely and sweetly, the author expresses a young child's joyous religious faith and outlines rules by which to live one's life. This title is suited for parents and children to share and would also be appropriate for Sunday-school classes to read and discuss. The colorful acrylic paintings, done in a primitive style, echo children's art and provides a perfect match for the innocence of the prayers.Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Give Me Grace: A Child's Daybook of Prayers | [
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27,545 | 16 | Artist Sandra Boynton has been charming adults for decades with her whimsical, animal-centric greeting cards and her droll sense of humor. When Boynton transferred her weirdly wonderful critters to board books for babies, she made publishing history. These short, hilarious books are perfectly suited to toddler tastes, with their small size, few words, cheerful colors, funny jokes, and silly animals. Blue Hat, Green Hat is all about getting dressed, and stars a very silly turkey who just doesn't get it. (Feet in the hat, pants on the head, etc.) His continuing refrain is "Oops." Moo, Baa, LA LA LA! investigates the sounds animals make, including pigs who sing. Doggies is "a counting and barking book" about the many sounds dogs can make, and A to Z frolics through the alphabet with amusing animal antics from an aardvark admiring to a zebra zigzagging. Parents love Boynton as much as kids do, and these four books in a compact boxed set will no doubt become household favorites! (Baby to age 3) --Marcie BovetzSandra Boynton is a popular American humorist, songwriter, childrens author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated more than forty books for both children and adults, as well as more than four thousand greeting cards and four music albums. She has designedfor various companiescalendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys.; Title: Boynton's Greatest Hits Volume 1: Blue Hat, Green Hat; A to Z; Moo, Baa, La La La!; Doggies (Boynton Board Books) | [
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27,546 | 2 | Oscar-winning actor and producer Marlee Matlin makes her writing debut about a topic she knows very well--the difficulties of growing up deaf. Nine-year-old Megan is thrilled when Cindy moves in down the street, even though the two couldn't be more different. Megan is boisterous; Cindy is shy. Megan loves everything with a passion, especially the color purple; Cindy shrinks from attention. Megan is deaf; Cindy can hear. Together, they forge an unlikely friendship that is tested when the two decide to attend summer camp together. There is another deaf child in their bunk, and suddenly Megan seems to forget the promise she made to Cindy to be "BFF," Best Friends Forever. Cindy struggles with this rejection, even as it forces her to step out from behind Megan's shadow and learn to speak up for herself. Once they are home again, the two reconcile when a hair-pulling argument dissolves into laughter.The preeminent author of fiction about children with disabilities has always been the beloved Jean Little (Little by Little, Mine for Keeps, etc.). Having said that, Matlin is no Little, but her writing style is competent and clearly describes the realities of Megan's world. And even though Matlin's gently told story doesn't rise much above the "message" of Megan's disability, it's still a message that youngsters need to hear. (Ages 8 to 10) --Jennifer HubertMatlin, the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award, makes her fiction debut with this problematic novel about a friendship between two nine-year-old girls. Megan, who is deaf, is almost opposite in temperament from her new neighbor, the bookish, shy Cindy, but nonetheless decides that Cindy will be her best friend. Much of the book's tension relies on the girls' best-friend status, but the friendship isn't convincingly developed. Nor are the characters-even though the point of view alternates between the girls, Cindy seems sketchy next to Megan, and neither voice seems authentic (e.g., nine-year-old Megan asks herself what kind of toys the new girl will have). Matlin is at her best when delving into Megan's inner world, such as her heightened sense of smell (her father-like the other parents, distractingly referred to by his first name-claims her deafness sharpens her other senses) or her anger at not being able to use the phone, but generally these moments are fleeting and the conflicts they evoke too neatly resolved. Unfortunately, the pages are riddled with errors in grammar and syntax ("Like any other home, dinnertime was a chance to share events of day"; a paragraph written in the past tense briefly switches to present tense and back; etc.), further undermining the storytelling. Ages 8-12.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Deaf Child Crossing | [
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27,547 | 1 | Grade 3-5-East Indian, Japanese, Jamaican, German, Czech, Egyptian, and other traditions were tapped to provide fodder for this thoughtful look at the many roles in which cats are cast in traditional mythology-creator, trickster, goddess, monster, and guardian. Baker's lively full- and double-page watercolor illustrations enhance the 10 tales, bringing out the innocent, humorous, or regal qualities of the feline in question. An afterword follows each smoothly written selection, providing additional facts about an individual breed or elucidating cultural references. Entertaining whether read alone or aloud, this attractive volume is a good companion to the Hausmans' Dogs of Myth (S & S, 1999), presented in the same format with Barry Moser's illustrations.Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-6, younger for reading aloud. This handsome, oversize book is not just a treat for cat lovers but also for readers who enjoy a good folktale. The authors offer nine stories about cats, dividing them into categories such as the trickster cat, the guardian cat, the goddess cat. The tales come from many places and times: ancient Egypt, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Polynesia. From India comes a story about how the cat became domesticated--at the expense of its friend the tiger. A Japanese Aen tale describes a martial arts confrontation between an old temple cat and a rat. Leslie Baker's enchanting watercolor art using layered washes appears throughout the stories, and each tale begins with a Barry Moser-like portrait of the cat protagonist. Giving the book extra heft are the notes and sources that discuss both the tales and the cats featured in them. A worthy purchase. Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Cats of Myth: Tales From Around the World | [
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27,548 | 7 | Johnny Gruelle was a talented cartoonist, illustrator, and storyteller. He wrote and illustrated many books about Raggedy Ann and her friends, whom he created for the enjoyment of his beloved daughter, Marcella. He died in 1938.; Title: Raggedy Ann's Wishing Pebble | [
27396,
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] | Validation |
27,549 | 13 | Though Evans's (The Christmas Box) name is no stranger to bestseller lists, it is the exquisite art from a first-time illustrator that most impresses in this volume. Marked by photographic sharpness, Linton's oil paintings crystallize the emotion in the sparse narrative, which opens with the simple statement "A father once had a daughter." Through the years, the devoted parent smiles as he watchesAfrom a tactful distanceAas his daughter engages in her favorite activity: dancing. In Linton's memorable images, the girl dances in the yard, in a school play, as a soloist in The Nutcracker, on the porch after her first prom and at her wedding. Finally, the ailing, aged father calls his grown-up daughter to his bedside, where she grants his request to dance for him one more time, and he makes a promise: "Though you will not see me, whenever you dance, I will be watching." With its heart-tugging sentiment and adult perspective, the story may find a more appreciative audience among fathers and grown-up daughters than among children. Yet Evans's introduction will give any reader pause; here he notes that Linton painted the book's cover illustration of a golden-haired child from a photograph of a girl who with her mother had been killed in a car accident months before. Included is an affecting religious poem ("I have two angels... that abide with me. It is His way. Two by Two") written by the child's father that complements the life-affirming message of the text. All ages. (Oct.) FYI: The author's proceeds from this book will be donated to the Christmas Box House International, which benefits abused and neglected children. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5-Throughout the years, the love of dancing fills a woman's life. Whether she is dressed as an ear of corn in her first school recital or a soloist in The Nutcracker, her father is always there watching her and smiling. Years later, as he is dying, he asks her to come and perform for him once more. As she dances, she tells him that she has always danced for him. He tells her that she must continue to dance and that he will always be watching and smiling. This is a solemn, nostalgic story that will appeal to an adult audience. The illustrations are elegant, formal, and muted. Many of them feature the daughter as an adult-at her wedding and visiting her dying father. The almost phantomlike role of the father who never interacts with his child until the end gives the story an aloofness that may confuse children. Neither the art nor the text will keep youngsters' attention.Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Dance | [
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27,550 | 2 | Gr 2-3-On the first day of school, Noelle and Todd meet their new teacher, Mr. Merlin, a self-professed ex-spy. Someone has sent Amber Lee a secret-admirer letter and the students get involved in unmasking the writer. Mr. Merlin hones the third graders' logic skills with two code-breaking exercises and introduces an acquaintance who is a police lab scientist who can corroborate the clues found. While the 10 chapters move along quickly, the characters lack development. Though this series may appeal to those who have exhausted David Adler's "Cam Jansen" books (Viking), readers might be better served by other chapter-book series, including Stephen Krensky's "Arthur" books (Little, Brown). A pleasant, nonthreatening read.-Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DECopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.George Stanley was a Professor of African and Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics at Cameron University. In between prepping class lectures and grading papers, he found the time to write for children. He was also the author of Night Fires and the Third-Grade Detectives series.; Title: The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope (Third-Grade Detectives) | [
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27,551 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3-A treat for the eyes and the ears. A little girl can't decide who snores louder: her grandfather or grandmother. "When Papa snores, ARRGHH-OOOMM-ARRGHH-OOOMM the lamp at his bedside rattles and shakes, and the drawers of his dresser open and close. When Nana snores, GARRUUM-GARRUUM the blinds on the window clink-clank together, and the dishes in the drainer shake themselves dry." Long's cumulative text builds on itself to gain momentum until the last page, which ends in an ironic but heartfelt twist. Children will enjoy the amusing onomatopoeic phrases on every page. The wonderful illustrations rendered in gouache and ink with some cut paper portray a household of animated objects and a loving, extended family. Pair this humorous story with Audrey Wood's The Napping House (Harcourt, 1984) at bedtime or storytime.Sheryl L. Shipley, North Central Local Schools, Pioneer, OH Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3-7. Papa and Nana's snoring does not bother the little girl in this picture book. She finds it very natural--and rather comforting. Meade's bright illustrations, done in gouache and ink with some cut paper, capture the energy of the story and the personalities of the characters (as well as their snores). A surprise ending will delight readers, as will the repeated phrases describing what happens when Papa and Nana snore. The illustrations contain many details that young children will have fun picking out, such as the hopscotch drawing on the sidewalk, the pictures on the walls, and the pet cat's presence in each picture. The little girl in her bright yellow nightshirt pops out against the blue tones of nighttime colors and is easy to focus on. Young readers will have fun asking their parents to repeat the varied sounds of snoring-- "carrroosh . . . clinka-linka . . . scurrafffa taffa taf," and more. Kathy BroderickCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: When Papa Snores | [
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27,552 | 7 | Would you be more responsive to a brother's request for money than to a beggar's request for money? This is the question that Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, asks his readers to consider in The Christmas Candle, a morality tale whose haunting moodiness evokes the Dickensian ghost of Christmas past. In this story, a rather unpleasant-seeming young man named Thomas is making his way home on a dark, bitterly cold Christmas Eve. In search of a candle for his tin lantern, he pushes aside a beggar to enter the shop of a village candlemaker, who has rows and rows of candles sculpted into angels, sprites, princesses. Thomas, impatient, just wants a plain old candle. The Yoda-like candlemaker sells him one, warning cryptically, "It is only four coppers, but you may find it costly." Indeed. This strange candle somehow makes Thomas see his mother's face in the face of the next beggar he encounters, and a figure lying in the gutter reveals itself to him as his brother. He gives them everything he has. Finally, penniless and cold, he reaches the music and laughter of his childhood home. When his family asks him why he has arrived empty-handed, he suddenly understands why the old man told him the candle would be costly, and his heart fills with joy: "For that Christmas Eve, a lesson was learned and taken to heart: If we will see things as they truly are, we will find that all, from great to small, belong to one family." The Christmas Candle--heavily laden with American Realist Jacob Collins's gloomy still-life paintings and bleak, eerily lit oil portraits of dour-faced beggars--is not exactly a joyous expression of holiday cheer. It is, however, a time-tested tale of charity that will resonate with young and old alike. (Ages 6 and older)Richard Paul Evans is the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box. Each of his more than thirty novels has been a New York Times bestseller. There are more than thirty million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Mothers Book Award, the Romantic Times Best Womens Novel of the Year Award, the German Audience Gold Award for Romance, two Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Awards, the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children. You can learn more about Richard on Facebook at Facebook.com/RPEFans, or visit his website, RichardPaulEvans.com.; Title: The Christmas Candle | [
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27,553 | 18 | Gr. 2-5. As in The Mary Celeste (1999) and The Wolf Girls (2001), this picture book for older children is framed by a fictional story about a detective's daughter who investigates a famous historical mystery. Here she tells readers about the founding of the Roanoke colony in 1587. It seems the colony's leader, who departed to obtain supplies, returned to find the colonists gone. The girl sets forth several theories and questions about what may have happened to the "lost colony," letting readers examine the facts and draw their own conclusions. There's a lot going on here: a framework story, the historical account, the ending hypotheses, and the addition of "notebook pages" with background information; children may need to read the book more than once to take it all in. The large, picture-book format offers plenty of scope for Roth's appealing narrative illustrations in watercolor and pencil. An attractive, intriguing introduction to the lost colony. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedHeidi Elizabet Yolen Stemple is Jane Yolen's daughter and sometime writing partner. Together they wrote the Unsolved Mysteries from History series. Heidi lives in Hatfield, MA.; Title: Roanoke: The Lost Colony--An Unsolved Mystery from History | [
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27,554 | 2 | Writing about a boy trying to earn a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do, Pinkney (who holds a black belt in that art) "effortlessly gets into the mind of his protagonist," said PW. "Energetic scratchboard illustrations swirl with movement." Ages 5-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous acclaimed books for children, including Martin Rising;In Your Hands; On the Ball; The Faithful Friend; Duke Ellington; and In the Time of the Drums. His many awards include two Caldecott Honors, a Coretta Scott King Illustration Award, four Coretta Scott King Illustration Honors, and the Boston GlobeHorn Book Award. Brian lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and frequent collaborator, Andrea Davis Pinkney. Visit him at BrianPinkney.net.; Title: JoJo's Flying Sidekick | [
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27,555 | 2 | In this cozy bedtime tale, a curly-headed toddler (of unspecified gender) grows drowsier and drowsier as a loving father carries the child off to bed. McGee's (The Forest Child) rhymed text, with only a few words per page, sets out the familiar preparations for winding down, accompanied by soporific repetitions of the word "sleepy": "Sleepy story./ Sleepy sighs./ Sleepy Mom/ will kiss my eyes./ Sleepy bed/ with sleepy bear./ My sleepy head/ will soon be there." Williams's (Jiggle Joggle Jee!) gentle double-spread watercolors, accented with softly shaded black pastel, combine the purple shadows of a late summer evening with comforting pictures of home and bed. In one picture, the mother, who is pregnant, leans against the doorjamb listening as the father finishes reading to the yawning child; white sheep adorn the wallpaper. A soothing choice for nighttime reading. Ages 2-5.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.PreS-A steady-patterned rhythm leads readers through this melodic mood piece, which relies on rhyme and a heavy repetition of the word "sleepy." A father carries a curly headed cherub up the stairs to the child's room. They rock, they gaze out the window, they read, until finally the toddler is placed in bed sound asleep. The last line, "Sleepy, sleepy me!" seems jarring and totally unnecessary. The illustrations are focused and soothing. The flowing charcoal outlines add a looseness and immediacy to the childlike watercolors. There are lots of close-ups-everything seems big, overstuffed, and cuddly; even the moon and stars have simple, sleepy faces. However, while the text is presumably lulling the little one slowly toward sleep, the youngster appears to be out for the count on daddy's shoulder early on. It also seems odd that such a young child would sleep in a bed rather than a crib. The lack of attention to detail makes this book ultimately unsuccessful.Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Sleepy Me | [
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27,556 | 2 | Gr 1-4-A lighthearted but fact-filled look at plumbing throughout history. Starting with the Stone Age, Lauber traces key developments related to bathing, washing, and the disposal of human waste. The ways in which different civilizations met the practical challenges of providing efficient tubs and toilets are fascinating. A conversational tone makes the text accessible, with just enough facts and figures included to give the information substance. Specific details and general observations work together to create an entertaining overview of the topic. Cartoon illustrations, many with dialogue balloons, add more humor. Figures are lively caricatures, with a variety of sometimes bare bodies showing bathroom practices through the ages. The exaggerations in the illustrations present humorous looks at such conditions as dumping chamber pots onto the street and therapeutic ice-water showers. Though many of the pencil-and-watercolor cartoons will evoke giggles, they also successfully depict historical scenes in ways that readers will remember. Much of the history centers on Europe, and later America, but a two-page spread shows the emphasis that other civilizations placed on sanitation. The intriguing historical facts and the clever humor make this an excellent title for nonfiction booktalking. Readers wanting a more thorough, but no less fascinating presentation can move up to Penny Colman's Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers (Atheneum, 1994).Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, ORCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2-4. Humorous cartoon-style artwork in mixed media lightheartedly advances this picture-book history of baths and toilets. Looking back as far as the Stone Age, Lauber efficiently telescopes history to reveal that the earliest-known bathtub--a large pottery bowl--came from ancient Crete. The Romans built both private and public baths. One huge facility accommodated 3,000 bathers simultaneously. Public toilets were found in ancient Roman and Greek cities. Amusing sidebars poke fun at the primitive waste-disposal methods that prevailed through the ages. Youngsters will roar in delight at the sight of King Louis XIV of France receiving visitors while seated on his closestool (a chamber pot hidden beneath an upholstered seat). They'll also be intrigued to discover that baths were considered unhealthy during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Not until the discovery of germs in the mid-1800s was the importance of cleanliness recognized, and it wasn't until 1851 that the White House had a bathtub with running water. Children will relish this comic history; pair it with Mick Manning's Wash, Scrub, Brush! [BKL My 1 01], which is a more practical approach to good grooming. Ellen MandelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: What You Never Knew About Tubs, Toilets, & Showers (Around-the-house History) | [
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27,557 | 1 | Eric Carle is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of more than seventy books for very young children, including The Tiny Seed, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me,and his most well-known title, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old. He studied at the prestigious art school, the Akademie der Bildenden Knste, in Stuttgart, before returning to the United States, where he worked as a graphic designer for the New York Times and later as art director for an advertising agency. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, now considered a modern classic, has sold nearly fifty million copies and has been translated into sixty-five languages. With his late wife, Barbara, Eric Carle cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2002. Eric Carle lives in the Florida Keys.; Title: Pancakes, Pancakes! (The World of Eric Carle) | [
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27,558 | 0 | Under the quilt of night a young slave girl leads her loved ones away from the slave master who worked them: "hoeing and picking, / mending and sewing, / till my hands got raw." In this striking companion to Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome's Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, Hopkinson uses the rhythm of verse to echo the drumming of the slaves' feet as they travel along the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War times. Ransome's oil painting illustrations are rich with the purple hues of night, and fraught with the tense emotions of the men, women, and children trying to escape--and those helping them. Over the course of the story, the deep purple gradually lightens, as the sun begins to rise and the slaves approach freedom. The final illustration is a veritable sunburst of brilliant orange and yellow. Our heroine's voice "flies up in song. / My own song / of running in sunshine / and dancing through fields. / I'll jump every fence in my way." A truly glorious celebration of the brave souls who kept alive the secret network of people helping others escape slavery. (Ages 5 to 11) --Emilie CoulterDramatic oil paintings and compelling verse-like prose combine to portray the harsh yet hopeful experience of travel along the Underground Railroad. Hopkinson and Ransome revisit the theme of their first collaboration, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. This time readers journey the precarious trail to freedom with a young runaway as she escapes to Canada via clandestine routes and dangerous nighttime treks. The intense opening spread features three panels showing her nameless family running for their lives by the light of the full moon, some shoeless or with only rags on their feet. (Subsequent pages show snarling dogs and overseers in hot pursuit.) The story comes to a formidable climax when they're almost discovered hiding in the back of a wagon. Hopkinson names each segment of the journey ("Running," "Waiting," "Hiding") and her narrative conveys the emotional and physical hardships of the trip ("Fear is so real, it lies here beside me"). The author connects the metaphorical protective quilt of night with folkloric elements (legend has it that quilts with blue center squares indicated safe houses on the Underground Railroad). Ransome fills in the characterizations with portraits that convey a strong familial connection and the kindness of the conductors along the way. This suspenseful story successfully introduces and sheds light on a pivotal chapter in America's history for youngest readers. Ages 5-10. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Under the Quilt of Night | [
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27,559 | 2 | Set in England during the Industrial Revolution, this lively and rewarding novel captures the spirit and speech of the canal boat people who, as an independent class within English society, formed their own distinct culture. The heavy dialect ("Clemmed, were ye?... Mayhappen ye havena supped o' late?") may be a stumbling block for some (especially those who do not discover the appended glossary until the end), but readers who enjoy such vivid language will savor Howard's (The Tower Room; A Different Kind of Courage) skillful use of historical details. Too scared to go home to her sister and her sister's brutish husband after she is locked out of her job at the silk factory for arriving late, 10-year-old Emma wanders through an open gate in a high brick wall. Inside, she finds a "placid ribbon" of water, and the pathway alongside it leads her to a canal boat named Cygnet and its gruff but soft-hearted owner, Mrs. Minshull. To pay for eating one of Mrs. Minshull's potatoes, Emma is put to work as a "huffler," leading the horse that pulls the Cygnet. As the boat travels far from Emma's home in Macclesfield, she grows to enjoy her job and the quiet evenings with Mrs. Minshull. Still, Emma suffers pangs of guilt for leaving her sister. Noting the contrast between the immaculate, brightly painted Cygnet and the grim, squalid conditions of Emma's own home, readers will regret the heroine's decision to return to Macclesfield, but relief comes almost immediately. Swiftly plotted and thoughtfully constructed, this novel makes splendid use of its unusual setting. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-7-Howard returns with another successful historical tale featuring a resourceful young girl. Emma Deane is but 10-years-old and already working in a mill to support her sister, her sister's brutish husband, and their child. One day she happens upon a gate by the riverside and enters the world of the canal folk, people who moved cargo up and down the complex system of canals in 19th-century England. She is pressured into service for a Mrs. Minshull after taking one of the woman's potatoes to assuage her hunger. After helping the elderly boatwoman all the way to Manchester, Emma's self-esteem begins to grow. She meets various characters along the way and discovers an incipient talent: painting. Although Mrs. Minshull is gruff, she treats Emma with a concern that the young girl hasn't felt since her parents died. Feeling guilty, however, for abandoning her sister and the baby, she determines that she must return to them. Once there, Emma discovers where she truly belongs. Howard's attention to detail is not spared, and she provides a dialect true to the time period and culture. Although a glossary helps, some words may be somewhat daunting to younger readers. The overall effect, though, brings this story to life. Children will appreciate Emma's adventures as she makes her way up and down the canal, realizing her gifts and finding a home for herself.Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Gate In The Wall (Jean Karl Books (Prebound)) | [
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27,560 | 11 | In an oversize yet cozy-looking picture book, Rylant and Halperin explore the components of a home that could easily serve as a setting for this pair's Cobble Street Cousins series. Rylant quickly gets to the heart of her subject: "No matter the kind of house, it is the living inside that makes it wonderful." From there, she conducts readers onto the front porch, over the threshold and into various rooms. In the living room, "there is usually a big sofa," and maybe a fireplace in front of which "husbands and wives who have been married a long time will spend the evening reading or sewing or simply being quiet together." The kitchen is "the room that reminds people to look after each other." And bedrooms "shelter us from the world like no other rooms can." While the author speaks thoughtfully and in general terms about the feelings that rooms conjure for many people, the illustrator focuses on one particular multigenerational family and the colorful lives they lead in their comfortably cluttered house. Halperin's watercolorssometimes featuring multiple snapshot-like scenes of the same room on one pagebrim with idiosyncratic details suggestive of the inhabitants' personalities. Even when the text approaches preciousness ("The smell of cookies makes every person as nice as he can be"), the note of welcome sounds clearly. Readers will want to linger here. All ages. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reSchool-K-Describing the individual rooms in a house, Rylant moves from porch to attic, stopping by the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms in between. In a quiet, warm mood, the narrative delineates the gestures and activities of a multigenerational household. Halperin brings a multitude of details to life using a pastel palette of gold, green, peach, and rose. Attractive spot art picks up one item from a room, such as a hanging basket from the porch or a teapot from the kitchen, as a visual clue for readers. The love of reading is apparent-books appear throughout the dwelling. This title is similar to Daniele Bour's The House from Morning to Night Kane Miller, 1998), which chronicles each hour of the day. Because there will be something new to discover in the art with subsequent read-ings, children will repeatedly choose this book for one-on-one sharing.Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House | [
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27,561 | 2 | Sandra Boynton turns on the charm again in this story about a cuddly dino who refuses to go to bed until he (or she) has the right comfort object. A reflective silvery moon, some pull-out flaps, and a liftable bedspread with a reluctant hero hiding beneath it offer the very small reader a way into the story. The "Binkit" itself, a piece of soft yellow felt, can be stroked for reassurance. Reluctant bedtimers from one to three will enjoy this introduction to the idea of a bedtime routine that ends with comfort, closed eyes, and peace. (Baby to age 3)Boynton's (Snoozers) signature style showcases a restless baby dinosaur who can't go to bed without his (or her) security blanket in this charming large-trim board book. Her rhyming text cajoles the little creature to settle down: "Dinosaur O Dinosaur,/ you fuss and fret and yawn./ It's time to brush your dino teeth/ and put your p.j.'s on." A silver foil moon, red felt blanket and yellow felt "binkit" (no ordinary blanket, that) are among the touchable elements: in one of the most amusing flaps, the wail "I NEED MY BINKIT!" is emblazoned across the inside of Dinosaur's big, pink, tooth-lined mouth. The book is cute without being cloying, thanks to the authorial voice, which softens from stern to sympathetic, and the dino's comic desperation. This light, witty treatment of the eternal subjects of the "blanky" and the bedtime tantrum will make a welcome addition to the bedside bookshelf. And with its felt inserts, it's a book kids can really cozy up to. Ages 3 mos.-5 yrs. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Dinosaur's Binkit | [
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27,562 | 0 | When Lois discovers a diary and a human skeleton in a hidden room, she learns that her house was a station on the Underground Railroad; scenes alternate between 1856 and the present. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Lois Ruby is the author of several novels, including Steal Away Home, which was named an IRA Young Adults' Choice and a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC). Before she turned to writing, she was a young adult librarian for the Dallas Public Library. In her spare time she serves on the board of Inter-Faith Inn, a homeless shelter in Wichita, Kansas, and sometimes teaches minicourses to seventh and eighth graders. The place I feel most comfortable, she says, is among teenagers, laughing. The mother of three sons, she lives in Wichita with her husband, Thomas.; Title: Steal Away Home (Aladdin Historical Fiction) | [
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27,563 | 2 | "In a gunkless corner of the soapy silver soap dish... in a fogless smidgen of his father's foggy shaving mirror... right there on the hot-water faucet, for heaven's sake... he saw it!"Big, bad, BEDHEAD! Oliver's hair is "way out of control." Hair is going every which way, and in the back there's a clump that looks just like a cat's coughed-up fur ball. Drastic measures are in order. Oliver's very helpful family pushes, pulls, waters, spritzes, mousses, and hair-pins the recalcitrant locks, all to no avail. Finally, they remember the one true answer to bedhead: a baseball cap. Off to school Oliver goes, everything fine and dandy until he makes a horrible discovery: today is class picture day, and hats are not allowed.Margie Palatini's hilarious story will ring painfully true for bedheadites of all ages. Her riotous dialogue flows free and wild, to the most splendid accompaniment of Jack E. Davis's big-faced (and big-haired) comic illustrations. Anyone who has ever suffered the trauma of bedhead--you know who you are--will weep grateful and giddy tears of joy to read this hairy adventure. A terrific read-aloud. (Ages 6 and older) -- Emilie CoulterKindergarten-Grade 3-A loud scream from the upstairs bathroom interrupts Oliver's family's breakfast, and an investigation reveals that the boy is suffering from a bad case of "bedhead." "There was hair going this way. Hair going that way. Hair going up. Down. Around and around." His parents and sister try wetting it and spraying it, but nothing works, and Oliver goes off to school wearing his trusty blue baseball cap-a masterful plan, except that it's class picture day. Palatini's lengthy, hilarious text, which appears in jagged frames that suggest the boy's mounting anxiety, is filled with her signature alliteration and familiar expressions like "Been there. Done that," "a done deal," and "Zero. Zilch. Nada." It will take little persuasion to have children chime in on the "B-B-B-BOING!"s every time Oliver's hair does its thing. The zany cartoon-style illustrations, executed in colored pencil, acrylic, dye, and ink, appear on large double-page spreads with small white borders. Many of them depict Oliver's oversized head, hair flying in all directions, and his family trying to effect a cure. From the shocked expression on Oliver's face on the cover and the bathroom-tile-covered endpapers to the scene of the boy's terrible discovery and the wacky remedies that follow, this is a delightful combination of text and pictures that will have readers coming back for more.Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Bedhead | [
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27,564 | 0 | School Library Journal There are four sparkling winners here: Henry and Mudge and Rylant and Stevenson."School Library Journal" There are four sparkling winners here: Henry and Mudge and Rylant and Stevenson.Kirkus Reviews Warm, loving, and gently philosophical, these stories about an only child and his closest companion deserve a place in every library collection."Kirkus Reviews" Warm, loving, and gently philosophical, these stories about an only child and his closest companion deserve a place in every library collection.Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novelMissing Mayreceived the Newbery Medal. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Visit her at CynthiaRylant.com.; Title: Henry And Mudge in the Family Trees | [
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27,565 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 2-Bart the sand ant has spent his whole life moving mounds of sand from one tunnel to another in an underground nest. He and the other ants have never seen the sky or felt the rain. One day, Bart feels the outside world beckoning him, and he flees the nest without being noticed. He quickly finds out that the world is full of wonder and joy, and of danger, as he narrowly escapes becoming lunch for a frog and almost drowns in a rain puddle. Bart begins to regret his escapade and heads home. The entrance guard questions him but then reassures him that "sometimes an ant just needs to look at the sky" and looks the other way as Bart gets back to work. After listening all summer to his tales of the sun, rain, and bees, fellow sand ant Floyd decides to go exploring and Bart joins him. The richly colored illustrations of the outside world contrast sharply with the browns and tans of the nest. Deep green grass and bright yellow flowers are seen from an ant's perspective. The insects are dressed as people, complete with hard hats and safety glasses. The message-that it's good to take time for oneself-is not subtle or indirect. Purchase where books with a message are in demand.Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MNCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.Bonny Becker is the busy author of half a dozen children's books, including The Christmas Crocodile with Caldecott Medal winner David Small. Ms. Becker either never takes a day off or is always taking the day off, depending on what you think writers are doing when they stare into space. An Ant's Day Off is her second book with Simon & Schuster. She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and a garden full of tireless ants in Seattle, Washington.; Title: An Ant's Day Off | [
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27,566 | 17 | Written for an older audience than aimed for in either Lynn Joseph's Fly, Bessie, Fly or Reeve Lindbergh's Nobody Owns the Sky!: The Story of 'Brave Bessie' Coleman, this informative and insightful picture-book biography of the African-American aviator merits attention. Borden and Kroeger, co-authors of Paperboy, stress the adversities of Bessie Coleman's childhood in rural Texas at the turn of the 20th century and emphasize her extraordinary perseverance. As a girl, Bessie struggles to get an education, even when she must pick cotton instead of attending school; later, at 18, Bessie enrolls in "catch-up classes" and is placed in sixth grade at a private college, but her money runs out after only one term. Undefeated in her determination to become "somebody," Bessie eventually moves to Chicago in 1915 and, later, learns of French women who piloted planes during WWI. From that point on, Bessie resolves to fly; when no American pilots agree to teach her, she saves up money and enrolls at a school in France, becoming the first African-American to earn a pilot's license. At once breezy and grounded, the rhythmic text is arranged in short, verse-like lines, which should encourage reluctant readers to climb on board. Flavin's (Pushing Up the Sky) pebbly gouaches are atmospheric if a bit stiff, capitalizing on Borden and Kroeger's optimism. A flight well worth taking. Ages 9-12. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.K-Gr 4-The authors' flair for imparting history soars in this biography of the first African American to earn a pilot's license. From her difficult childhood spent picking cotton in Texas to her grand achievements in aviation, Coleman's personality shines through. The warm illustrations done in gouache on colored paper mix exciting images of the aviator flying her plane with quieter glimpses of her interacting with friends and family members. The straightforward sentence structure keeps the action moving and will capture reluctant readers. Coleman's affinity for children will captivate youngsters, who will freely mourn the early demise of the "trs chic! aviatrix" who often told others, "You can be somebody, too." A first-rate follow-up to Borden's Good-Bye, Charles Lindbergh (McElderry, 1998).-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Fly High! The Story Of Bessie Coleman | [
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27,567 | 12 | In Bryan's (Aneesa Lee and the Weaver's Gift, reviewed below) thoughtful introduction to this eclectic collection of 26 African proverbs from various traditions (Yoruba, Gola, Maasi, etc.), he reflects on the "household of proverbs" in which he was raised. He suggests that "proverbs seek to raise meaning out of our daily experiences," and accompanies each saying with a gouache and watercolor illustration above the text. Like the interlocking shapes of stained glass windows, the paintings combine human and animal representations with complex, light-filled designs. At first glance, the artwork may seem repetitious, but close inspection reveals the intricacy and diversity of the compositions. Illustrating the Swahili proverb "Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself," for example, Bryan balances seriousness and humor. He pairs a childlike face with a lion's nose and mane next to a more menacing, mask-like lion's face; both faces feature teeth queued across their mouths like the bars of a cage in a child's crayon drawing. Accompanying the stunning Ashanti proverb, "No one knows the story of tomorrow's dawn," the splintered sun hovers over stars and a sky-blue moon while a pair of roosters wait to crow. Though some proverbs seem directed more to adults than children, this is a book with words and art to ponder. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5-This collection of proverbs represents a range of thoughtful admonitions and contemplations, both serious and humorous. The beauty of this work is in the many possible meanings these words will elicit. Whether considering the Krahn saying, "Never try to catch a black cat at night"; the Kpelle proverb, "As a crab walks, so walk its children"; or the Ashanti phrase, "No one knows the story of tomorrow's dawn," readers can imagine the stories behind these expressions. Each proverb has its own page and is interpreted with a colorful, energetic painting that extends the folkloric theme with playful symbols and figures. The tempera-and-gouache pictures with white outlines are reminiscent of woodcuts. This book will find an audience among families, discussion groups, and readers who relish discovering the wisdom of words.Joan Zaleski, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Night Has Ears: African Proverbs | [
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27,568 | 2 | Grade 1-4-Noted caricaturist Sorel applies his signature sketchy style to a period story of spunk and adventurous comeuppance. Leo, who lives with his mother in New York City in the 1930s, has two obsessions: Saturdays at the movies and playing the violin. When Morty, the neighborhood bully, gets him thrown out of the theater, the boy longs to get even. Leo's movie-style daydreams of revenge as a G-man, pirate buccaneer, and World War I pilot are just flights of fancy. Little does he dream that his opportunity to play the violin for the Mayor will make the newsreel and satisfyingly quash any future trouble from Morty. As Sorel's fine line shading gives dimension to figures and objects, the clothing and setting details give dimension to the locale and time period. This pixilated glimpse of an era past-with a trip to the Automat, elevated trains, and Saturday matinees-is depicted on large pages that draw readers into the scenarios. A lot of nostalgia, an appealing underdog, and good old-fashioned moxie will charm any child who dares to dream.Julie Cummins, New York Public Library Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5-8. Robust, larger-than-life scenes awash in nostalgia portray the New York of another era, when Saturdays were for going to the movies, and all the stories had happy endings. Leo is a nice kid bothered by a bully named Morty, who manages to get the usher to boot Leo out of the theater. Later, Morty disparages Leo's account of playing violin and shaking hands with the mayor. Leo comes out on top, however, when Morty and his parents turn up at the same theater where Leo has gone with his mom. There, everyone gets to see the newsreel footage of a floor-to-ceiling Leo playing violin and being congratulated by the mayor. "Keep up the good work," says Morty's dad afterward, and Leo knows he's safe from Morty's mouth. The dynamic pen-and-wash drawings are never static; their rush of detail captures the city with fond affection. Whether the scenes are pulsing cityscapes or a cozy apartment, the mood is energetic and upbeat, and Leo is a winner. Denise WilmsCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Saturday Kid | [
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27,569 | 11 | A favorite African fable, attributed to the Ghanaian educator Aggrey of Africa, soars in this superb inspirational picture book set in the Transkei region of South Africa. An African man discovers an abandoned, newly hatched eaglet and brings it back to his village, where he raises it among the chickens. Knowing no other life, the eagle clucks, pecks and stays on the ground just like the chickens, until a visitor to the village tries to set things right. With determination, the visitor insists that the eagle be restored to its birthright: "You belong not to the earth, but to the sky. Fly, eagle, fly!" Daly's airy, dusty-hued watercolors celebrate both the serene beauty of a South African landscape and the gentle, humming rhythm of village life. Gregorowski, an Anglican priest, once worked in the Transkei; in an endnote, he explains the tale's religious and political significance and poignantly reveals that he retold this tale many years ago for his terminally ill daughter ("I wanted her to understand that we are all born to be eagles who are lifted up with the might of the Spirit"). A preface by Archbishop Desmond Tutu distills the book's powerful and peaceful spirituality. Ages 5-9. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.While searching for a lost calf, a farmer finds an eagle chick. "The eagle is the king of birds," he says, "but we shall train it to be a chicken." And so the proud bird is raised among the barnyard fowl. One day, a friend visits and vows to prove that the eagle really belongs to the sky. However, each time he urges the bird to fly, it returns to Earth. Early one morning, the friend takes the bird to the top of a nearby mountain to greet the dawn. In a breathtaking moment, the bird rises with the sun and soars into the sky, "never again to live among the chickens." Gregorowski's retelling of a Ghanian folktale is a powerful celebration of the human spirit and its need for independence. It is beautifully complemented by watercolors, rich in the vibrant tones of earth and sky, which Daly dedicates to the children of South Africa. A foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu provides background on the tale. Michael Cart; Title: Fly, Eagle, Fly: An African Tale | [
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27,570 | 2 | Herb Dunn is a pseudonym for a well-known author. Under this name, he also wrote Joe DiMaggio: Young Sports Hero.; Title: Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer (Childhood of Famous Americans) | [
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27,571 | 0 | PreSchool-K-In the same whimsical spirit as her delightful Dog Heaven (Scholastic, 1995), Rylant presents 12 months of simple, rhymed blessings, with special remembrances for household pets. The verses are brilliantly illustrated with full-page, one-dimensional, primitive-style acrylic paintings mounted on multicolored, multipatterned, fabric patches. The simple, bold figures of flowers, birds, animals, and people in busy interior and exterior settings are in lambent colors and face a text handsomely printed in varied shades on bright backgrounds. Dogs and cats, snow, snug houses, grandparents, raindrops, children who read, and autumn trees are among the cozy items blessed in this charming yearbook.Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Rylant presents 12 short, rhymed blessings, one for each month of the year. A typical spread opens with the left-hand side displaying the prayer, such as "JANUARY / Bless the houses, / snug and tight / Bless the kitties / day and night, / Bless the trees / and bless the snow, / Bless us all / when cold winds blow." On the right, a childlike painting of a house with a cat in the window is bordered by small squares of colorful print fabrics. The painting also incorporates a small amount of fabric as window curtains. Rylant's tendency to repeat (blessing cats four times in the first six spreads, for instance) makes the verse more palatable to be read month by month, rather than one blessing right after another. Some of the naive paintings studded with fabric, such as the autumn tree scene for October, are quite effective, but others, stylistically bordering on the amateurish, miss the mark. Still, libraries may want to offer this visually bolder book as an antidote to the pastel sweetness of many volumes of children's blessings and prayers. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Bless Us All: A Child's Yearbook Of Blessings | [
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27,572 | 2 | Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty childrens books, including the Caldecott Honor books The Right Word and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams both written by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.; Title: Pinky Rex Get Married (Ready-to-Read Level 3, Reading Alone) | [
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27,573 | 2 | The Ferocious Beast, star of The Ferocious Beast with the Polka-Dot Hide, returns, in a silly bit of fluff that reads suspiciously like a made-for-television episode, perhaps not surprising given that the Beast is set to become a Nickelodeon regular this winter. Here, in what amounts to a group therapy session, he and his pals Maggie and Hamilton Hocks the pig 'fess up to their deepest fearsAsea monsters and goblins for Hamilton, ghosts and aliens for Maggie, mice for the Beast himselfA and discover that discussing what frightens them greatly diminishes their fears. "We did make you feel better and that's what good friends are for," says Maggie to the Beast in the end. The pedestrian prose falls short of Betty Paraskevas's previous texts (The Tangerine Bear, for example), and although Michael Paraskevas's color-saturated acrylics give the book a jolt of energy, even their humorous scenarios can't fully jump-start the predictable subject matter and trite scripting. This one is for devoted Beast fans only. Ages 2-6. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-The technicolor friendly monster from The Ferocious Beast with the Polka-Dot Hide (Harcourt, 1996; o.p.) returns in another adventure. Here, he reveals his secret fear to his friends Maggie and Hamilton Hocks. After they reassure him by listing their various fears (ghosts, sea monsters, spaceships from other galaxies-none of which, they admit, they have ever seen), the Ferocious Beast admits his fear: mice. As his friends start laughing, the beast reminds them that he has at least seen the object of his fear. Coincidentally, a mouse appears on cue and the children start screaming. When the frightened rodent scampers off, they all have a good laugh at themselves. The one-note joke is not enough to carry the book, though it may get a laugh on the first reading. The bright cartoons, rendered in acrylics, create a primary-colored, almost-surreal world for the beast and his cohorts. The TV tie-in may be enough reason to purchase this book, though the story itself is insubstantial.Kathleen M. Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: The Big Scare | [
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27,574 | 21 | "Gillman scores a solid hit," said PW's starred review of this "sensational" adaptation of a classic song, here given the backdrop of the 1947 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. All ages. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Aladdin Picture Books) | [
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27,575 | 2 | Kirkus pointered review Konigsburg has once again brought her readers a set of memorable characters and a unique perspective on children's hopes and ambitions...a good exploration of aspirations to and attainment of fame.Booklist Focus review Konigsburg writes with flashes of brilliance, and her multilayered story is as fresh and funny as any that has come center stage in a while.E.L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year. In 1968,From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweilerwon the Newbery Medal andJennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabethwas named a Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again forThe View from Saturday. Among her other acclaimed books areSilent to the Bone,The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, andThe Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.; Title: Up from Jericho Tel | [
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27,576 | 1 | Fifty years after vandalizing the Three Bears' house, Goldilocks clearly has some issues to resolve. Nagged by guilt, she buys some groceries, straps on a tool belt and heads for "the deep, dark woods." Finding the Bears away, she replaces their steaming porridge with fat-free snacks and re-stuffs their beds ("Just as I remembered: too hard, too soft," she tsks). When the Bears return, theyAand readersAexperience profound d?j? vu. Ernst, the author of the revisionist Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale, puts a campy spin on a classic story. All the characters suffer long-term effects from their legendary first meeting; Baby Bear never left his childhood home, and "due to the fright brought on by Goldilocks, he still had a wee little voice." Ernst is at her wittiest when depicting the mild-mannered Bears, whose wide-eyed disbelief fades to glum acceptance of the unsolicited home improvements; there's also a satirical edge to the pastel palette, whose sentimental shades underline Goldi's friendly but misguided intentions. Goldilocks has grown from a curious child to a full-fledged meddler in this humorous retelling. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-An enjoyable sequel to the classic tale. Now middle-aged, Goldi has opened a locksmith shop "to help people protect themselves against snoops" and alleviate her guilt over what she did to the Bear family years ago. Still haunted by her past, she decides to visit the Bears to make amends. She finds them living exactly as before, even though Baby Bear is also now middle-aged. Goldi arrives just after the Bears have left for their morning walk and begins by installing locks on their doors (to deter intruders like herself). She then goes on to adjust the upholstery in the chairs and the beds, redecorate, and replace the Bears' unhealthy porridge with celery juice and fat-free rutabaga bars. When the Bears come home, they are more upset than ever, until the next morning when they leave for their walk and spy a young blond girl approaching their home. In the hope that she will undo Goldi's efforts, they continue merrily on their way. Ernst's cartoon-style art, done in pastel, ink, and pencil, work well and add bits of additional humor, especially in the double-page spread of the shop. Children will appreciate Goldi's attempts at repair, especially her "improvement" of the Bears' food. All in all, a solid addition to the world of fractured fairy tales.Ellen A. Greever, University of New Orleans, LA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Goldilocks Returns | [
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27,577 | 2 | Words can't begin to describe just how naughty Nancy the mouse is. In fact, words don't describe her naughtiness... In John S. Goodall's wordless picture book, the entire story is told through exquisite and humorous watercolor paintings. Nancy is dragged by her determined-looking mother through the gates of school, to be met by the matronly bell- and stick-wielding teacher. But no sooner has Nancy's mother left the premises when her irrepressible daughter starts acting up and acting out. Mimicking her teacher, climbing onto the roof to retrieve a ball (that she hit up there, of course), tormenting her classmates on a field trip to the shore, Nancy is a menace. And yet, when another young mouse finds himself in dire straits, it turns out Nancy has a bit of a valiant, selfless heroine in her, as well.The reprinting of many of John Goodall's wordless books (Naughty Nancy, The Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmeralda, Shrewbettina's Birthday, etc.) is a windfall for imaginative beginning readers. Children can make up the words to the story as they go along, changing it as they notice new details, or according to their own mood or whim. Half pages alternate with full pages to advance the story--young readers will be intrigued by this unusual format. The mice's old-fashioned attire is nicely coordinated with the oh-so-modern mischief. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie CoulterJohn S. Goodall was born in Norfolk, England, and began to draw and paint when he was four years old. He attended the Royal Academy School of Art in London and began painting in watercolors in India during World War II. Upon his return to England, he painted portraits of members of the royal family. Mr. Goodall created his first children's books informally for his daughter and granddaughter, devising a new format in which he alternated full and half pages of watercolor illustration. In all, Goodall created more than thirty-five wordless picture books for children, including stories about Paddy Pork, Shrewbettina, and Naughty Nancy, as well as such titles as The Story of a Farm, The Story of a Main Street, and Great Days of a Country House.; Title: Naughty Nancy Goes to School | [
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27,578 | 12 | Gr 3 Up-A beautiful book with rich watercolor artwork. Most of the paintings are spreads in a nontraditional layout, with sections sometimes divided into shapes by the meandering text. The book is about peace and how it can be achieved: in the world, in the country, in the city, in one's school, and within oneself. The layout makes it a challenge to read aloud to a group. Many quotes from various people are included, with a running narrative on each page, beginning with "For there to be peace in the world...," on the first page, followed by "...there must be peace in nations" on the next. Each spread incorporates the words of others to support the running circular narrative. For example, "Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.-Albert Einstein" is followed by "What you do not want done to you, do not do to others.-Confucius." This lovely, uplifting title is meant to be pored over and could be used as a starting point for important discussions about bullying, racism, nonviolence, and many other topics.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.For there to be peace in the world, there must be peace in nations begins this lovely picture book, which uses similar sentences on successive double-page spreads in the first half of the book, tracing a trail of peace from the world to nations to cities to neighborhoods to schools to homes to hearts. The soothing main text becomes a bit confusing in the second half, given the many diverting quotations and illustrations that share space on each broad spread. Attributed to an eclectic mix of unknown names and familiar religious, political, literary, and cultural figures, the quotes appear within the long, thin white spaces that divide each spread into a number of different, pleasing shapes. The symmetry of the layouts and the clean beauty of the pencil-and-watercolor artwork, with its images of children, families, flower, and fauna, spans the globe and creates pleasing effects throughout the volume. While other picture books on peace may be better suited to reading aloud to groups, heres one to pore over and ponder. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan; Title: Peace | [
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27,579 | 17 | Carpenter's (Fannie in the Kitchen) expressive oil paintings lend an appropriately sturdy air to this picture book biography of the 16th president. Winters (Wolf Watch) traces Lincoln's path "from the wilderness to the White House," beginning in the one-room cabin where he first spoke and progressing to his later career as a self-taught lawyer and politician who "aimed his words at wrongs he'd like to right." With an eye for details of particular interest to a young audience (such as the fact that as a boy, Lincoln plowed with a book in his back pocket for reading during frequent breaks), the author highlights the main points of Lincoln's life. Her free-verse narrative takes on a suitably homespun directness ("His ideas stretched./ His questions rose./ His dreams stirred," she writes as young Abe watches people pass by on the Cumberland Trail), a quality echoed in Carpenter's choice of oils on rough-textured canvas, in a style reminiscent of Grandma Moses's work. Frontier life unfolds in warm earth-toned shades, and the artist sets a brisk pace by interspersing smaller vignettes with full-bleed vistas. The pages bustle with spry figures, including Lincoln himself, a wiry lad with a shock of unruly hair, big ears and highwater pants. An author's note fleshes out more of the important events of Lincoln's life. This fine introduction to a president over whom, from boyhood, "letters cast a magic spell" points up a valuable message-that of the importance of words in shaping ideas and lives. Ages 5-8. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.K-Gr. 2. Using simple language, bare-bones details, and uncluttered illustrations, Winters introduces America's sixteenth president. She recounts events from Lincoln's childhood in Kentucky and Indiana and his young adulthood in New Salem, Illinois. The engaging narrative emphasizes Lincoln's love of books and reading, which flourished despite his lack of formal education. Carpenter's oil-on-canvas illustrations include many details of pioneer life and focus on Lincoln's humble beginnings. An author's note filling in some information omitted from the story is appended. This will be a good choice for reading aloud, although many children will want to follow up with a more complete biography, such as Cheryl Harness' Young Abe Lincoln: The Frontier Days: 1809-1837 (1996) or Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington: 1837-1865 (1997). Kay WeismanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Abe Lincoln : The Boy Who Loved Books | [
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27,580 | 16 | A sharp-eyed dragonfly looks out for a young frog, urging him to jump just in time to avoid getting stepped on or picked off by a crow, until he is safely ensconced in a little pond. Lively (Goodnight, Sleep Tight) creates a pleasing interaction of repetition and variation, and the spirited, stubborn frog hardly obeys blindly. Oversize type conveys action and vehemence. Ormerod (Ms. Macdonald Has a Class), in often close-up artwork, provides a cross-sectioned, frog's-eye-view that includes the dangers the frog does not yet see and sets blocky forms against an azure background. The watery, bright and blurred tones of the dragonfly's wings stand out against the flat, vivid colors of the other animals and environment, endowing the insect with a fairylike presence. The compositions manage to be both simple and inventive: the artist often tweaks basic geometric forms to make them into patterns of grass blades, daisies or pebbles running across the spread. The delectably bright artwork and the rapport between kindly dragonfly and headstrong little frog make this a satisfying book. Ages 2-6. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: One, Two, Three, Jump! | [
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27,581 | 2 | Don't mess with Zee Zee Reisman from the Sherry Clutch Literary Agency. Especially when she's promoting the hot new novelist Cassandra Day. New York's publishing scene is familiar with tough players like Zee Zee, and impressed by the book she's pushing... but stunned when they find out Zee Zee and Cassandra are both 12-year-old girls. Zee Zee is really Zoe, fiercely loyal and self-assured best friend to Natalie Nelson, a.k.a. Cassandra Day. When Natalie writes a story, a really good story, Zoe is determined to let the whole world know. Using her formidable wits and all the resources available to a well-to-do New York City girl, Zoe, along with their timid English teacher, Ms. Clayton, proceeds to chip away at the challenge. The catch? The editor Natalie wants happens to be her own mother, an editor at Shipley Junior Books. But Natalie wants her authorship to remain a secret to her mom so that she'll get a fair shake. What ensues is a masterfully elaborate plot to get the manuscript in the right hands--and away from the arrogant, unfriendly editor in chief.A highly original plot with plenty of intriguing side stories makes this a thoroughly satisfying read, especially for future novelists, agents, and editors. The publishing world is explored in just enough detail to gently banish romantic notions, but not to quell enthusiasm. The subplot around Natalie's father, who died four years earlier, is an almost silent but strong undercurrent to the story. This graceful and enjoyable novel from Andrew Clements (the bestselling author of The Janitor's Boy, Frindle, and The Landry News) is illustrated with rather gloomy, yet strangely funny black-and-white drawings from Brian Selznick, the illustrator of Clements' Frindle and The Landry News. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie CoulterClements's (Frindle) absorbing novel centers on Natalie, a 12-year-old aspiring author who, since her father died in an automobile accident, lives alone with her mother, Hannah, a children's book editor for a New York City publisher. As the book opens, Natalie's best friend, Zoe, is reading the novel that Natalie is writing. The impulsive, take-charge Zoe decides it is good enough to be published and hatches a scheme to ensure that it is. The path from manuscript to bound book takes some funny turns, as the girls elicit the aid of their English teacher, who rents office space that serves as the faux headquarters of Natalie's self-appointed agent: Zoe. Clements strikes a poignant note with his plot within a plot, since the youngster's novel tells of a girl whose father stands up for her always even when she is caught cheating in school. Through the use of alternating perspectives, he characterizes the two seventh graders as very different but equally likable parties in a "push-and-pull friendship." Though Natalie's is, indeed, a "school story," it is at heart a tale about the love between a father and daughter. In Zoe's eyes, "the book was like a good-bye poem from Natalie to her father," whom she misses enormously. Hannah, explaining to Natalie how she can recognize the rare gem of a manuscript among the many submissions she receives, says, "The good ones stand out like roses in a snowbank." This is one such standout. Ages 8-12. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The School Story | [
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27,582 | 5 | Kindergarten-Grade 4-A purposeful poem poses the question and gives its own answers in words and pictures. The unicorns have fled and disappeared into the sea before the worst aspects of civilization-war, deforestation, industrialization, and overpopulation-threaten their existence. The poem reads aloud well. The onomatopoeic descriptions ("clacketing mills" and "chuggering trains") and alliterative phrases ("ribbon-rolled river" and "perfect peace of ponds") roll pleasantly off the tongue. However, some of the language, e.g., "Routed by gouts of iron-red flames" and "the cataphonetics of city and town," seems rhetorically ornate. The illustrator's extravagant, romanticized double-page spreads are as grandiose as the poetry, using a complex method of layering oils on gessoed Masonite panels, sometimes textured with pumice gel and modeling paste. Overall, there is no real plot and what strives to be inspiring seems ultimately pretentious. Marianna Mayer's The Unicorn and the Lake (Dial, 1982; o.p.) is more touching and compelling and Michael Hague's unicorns are more powerfully rendered.Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 6-8. A gifted wordsmith answers the title question in verse set to Sanderson's most powerful, expressive art to date. Where are the unicorns? Fleeing the "helmeted knights and their steel-weapon games," the "clacketing mills" and "iron sharp city-straight scapes," the unicorns have escaped to the sea, where "in the moment that separates nighttime and dawn, / The instant of daydream that's here and then gone, / You might see the toss of a mane or a horn. . . ." Using rough, prepared surfaces to capture texture, Sanderson adds layers of misty color to create a feeling of depth between the powerful, iridescent-looking beasts in the foreground, and the human works--castles, factories, a space shuttle roaring up from its launch pad--past which they gallop. The grand, lyrical sweep of poem and pictures together will carry readers to a place where the mundane and the magical blend. John PetersCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Where Have The Unicorns Gone | [
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27,583 | 0 | Grade 3-5-This powerfully illustrated picture book looks at legendary engineer Casey Jones through the eyes of a fictional black child who toils in a cotton field near the railroad tracks. In low, reverential tones, the text speaks both of the folk hero's mystique and the narrator's eagerness to experience Casey's big world. The man's status as a pioneering symbol of harmonious race relations appears within the story and in an eloquent epilogue suitable for older readers. Johnson's treatment of Casey's tragic, heroic death is particularly respectful and moving. Long's moody acrylic paintings, mainly in subdued tones, are a sterling accompaniment to the book's provocative prose.Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SCCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreS-Gr. 2. To escape his backbreaking work in the Mississippi cotton fields, a young, nineteenth-century African American boy dreams of trains. His hero is Casey Jones, who, with his black engineer Sims Web, sounds a "soul-speaking whistle" as he drives his engines past the boy's fields, "dreaming me away." When Jones is killed in a wreck, loving Papa fills the boy with confidence that he'll still be able to explore the "big, wide world," even without Casey. Children may struggle with the sense of some of Johnson's spare poetic lines: "We are where we were and who we are," for example. But even if they can't grasp the full meaning, they will easily connect with the boy's deep yearning to escape and the quiet, atmospheric beauty of the language. Long's powerful acrylic paintings give an immediate sense of the boy's world: the sorrow of the workers in the hot fields; the thrill of the mighty, streaking trains; and the joy of imagined adventures. An interesting author's note adds more history about Casey Jones and the Great Migration. Gillian EngbergCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: I Dream of Trains (Golden Kite Awards) | [
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27,584 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 4-An enormous feeling of playfulness and love comes through in this story of an African-American mother and child. The story begins on the cover, where the Wild Waiyuuzee's eyes peek out of a bush. On the first page, she sprints from her hiding place, trying to escape Shemama the Catcher. Readers receive clues to the Wild Waiyuuzee's identity through Reed's wildly graphic illustrations, rendered in Photoshop. As the child runs into a mango grove, "Tippi Tappi Tappi Tappi," a door appears among the deep green stalks. Later on, the yellow flowers of a plant blend into those found on wallpaper, while large ferns obscure an electric socket. Just when she thinks she is safe in an iguana cave (a table covered with an iguana-print tablecloth), Shemama catches her and rubs "nut-nut oil" onto her head. One quick escape later, the girl finally lets Shemama near enough to "plait-a-plait and string-a-bead" in her hair. Finally revealed, Mama and her little one gaze at "their look so selves" in a mirror, and even the Wild Waiyuuzee has to admit, "Ah, ko! Beautiful." Williams-Garcia's rhythmic, poetic language partners with Reed's dynamic illustrations to convey the boundless energy found in every Wild Waiyuuzee.Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3-6. It's hard to catch the Wild Waiyuuzee. When Shemama the Catcher goes after it, calling "Wait, you'll see, my Wild Waiyuuzee," the creature runs away; and when she tries to spray the Waiyuuzee with water and rub its hair with Nut Nut Oil, it hides. Is this a tale of the jungle? It may seem so at first--until homey objects appear in the wild, brightly colored illustrations: a door, a bed, a table covered with a printed cloth. At this point children will begin to see that the story is actually about an African American girl's efforts to avoid getting her hair combed and braided by her mother. The lilting language ("With piney pig's tail, thumb, and fingers, Shemama made plait-a-plait and string-a-bead each one") will make the story fun to read aloud, and children will enjoy mimicking the zany humor of Shemama and her Wild Thing, who ends up plaited, braided, beautiful, and content. Connie FletcherCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Catching The Wild Waiyuuzee | [
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27,585 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 2-Nedley the rabbit is hard-pressed to dig up the enormous carrot that he has greedily guarded for a long time. When Maggie and her companions happen upon the frustrated animal, they come to his aid with tea, sympathy, cucumber sandwiches, and a plan for extracting his prized possession. The carrot pops out of the ground and Nedley declares, "It's mine-all mine." He takes a bite and immediately discovers that it tastes like wood. The friends begin to laugh, and the rabbit soon joins them when he realizes his folly in wasting so much time trying to dig it up. At Maggie's suggestion they turn it into a giant birdhouse. The full-page acrylic illustrations are done in a bright palette. The colorful whimsy of the rolling landscape of Nowhere Land and the friendly looking characters are appealing, but go only partway in creating a satisfying read out of the slight fable. For tales of cooperation, stick with any of the variations of Aleksei Tolstoy's "Gigantic Turnip." However, fans who know and like Maggie and friends from the Nickelodeon series may enjoy seeing her in this slick picture-book production.Kathie Meizner, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Chevy Chase, MD Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Betty Paraskevas and Michael Paraskevas are a mother-and-son team who have collaborated on a number of well-loved and best-selling picture books, including Hoppy And Joe. Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: The Big Carrot, like Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: The Big Scare, is based on characters who can be seen on Nickelodeon. Betty and Michael also write and illustrate Junior Kroll for Hemispheres magazine. They live in Southampton, New York.; Title: The Big Carrot: A Maggie and the Ferocious Beast Book | [
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27,586 | 0 | Alma Flor Ada returns to the Hidden Forest a third time for With Love, Little Red Hen, illus. by Leslie Tryon, once again relaying her tale through correspondence from storybook characters. Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and others surprise the industrious but stressed-out Ms. Hen by secretly cultivating her corn, while two wolves plot to kidnap her for a chicken dinner.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.K-Gr 3-In this engaging sequel to Ada's Dear Peter Rabbit (1994) and Yours Truly, Goldilocks (1998, both Atheneum), the Little Red Hen and her chicks move into the Happy Valley section of the Hidden Forest. The hen's request for help from her lazy neighbors is met with the familiar chorus, "Not I." She writes of her new surroundings and adventures in letters to her friend Hetty Henny. Little does she know that she is the topic of conversation in letters between Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, who secretly decide to give her a hand. But not all is happy in Happy Valley with Wolfy Lupus and Fer O'Cious trying to make meals out of their neighbors. Hetty has a close call, but her scissors, needle, and thread provide her with a way out of trouble. Finally, when the Little Red Hen throws a party for her neighbors, the bad guys lose their opportunity to make a chicken dinner and slink off in shame and disappointment. Tryon's charming pen-and-ink with watercolor illustrations depict a bucolic paradise with neighbors who look out for one another. Team the three Hidden Forest books with Janet and Allan Ahlberg's The Jolly Postman (Little, Brown, 1986) and Each Peach Pear Plum (Viking, 1979) for a fun look at nursery rhymes and at letter writing.Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CTCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: With Love, Little Red Hen | [
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27,587 | 14 | We've met Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and more recently, Olive, the Other Reindeer... but wait! Here comes Bob--a tiny, silly reindeer created by the beloved Sandra Boynton. Bob can be quite an entertaining companion around Christmastime, but there seems to be some question about his existence: "My sister won't believe in/ my tiny reindeer friend/ she says there's no such reindeer/ but why would Bob pretend?"Bob introduces us to seven delightful holiday stories, sharing good company with a fine menagerie of daffy creatures including some very merry dairy cows, anxious bears, long-eared hounds, and a rather doubtful hippo who would just as soon not receive a bikini from Santa. These endearing animals wistfully share their dreams for a merry Christmas as they wish and wait for Santa, occasionally letting loose with a few sweet, funny songs. Boynton has created another classic with these hilarious, touching holiday tales. (Baby to preschool) --Marianne Painter'Tis the season to be silly, particularly when Boynton's at the helm. A tiny reindeer named Bob kicks off this set of seven merry poems (and, in fact, sneaks into the other six). The verse is cheery ("The turkey is loud. The donkey is, too./ The rooster joins in, so why shouldn't you?"), the presentation crisp, and the board book packs an added bonus: as in Snoozers, a tabbed index allows little fingers to select a favorite tale in a trice. But it's Boynton's signature cartoons, in her expert balance of tender and goofy, that will draw the crowds. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Bob | [
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27,588 | 1 | Gr 1-4-In poetic text, Winters writes about short episodes in a big cat's life: in the den with her kits, hunting, in danger from a leopard, teaching her young to swim and hunt. The story begins and ends with the words, "I am the tigress. I walk alone," thus leaving out any information about mating. Regan's gorgeous oil-and-gouache illustrations cover the double-page spreads and complement the drama of the text. A good first introduction to this majestic animal that will have youngsters clamoring for more.-Sally Bates Goodroe, Harris County Public Library, Houston, TXCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Ages 4-8. This attractive picture book, with gorgeous wildlife paintings and dramatic narration by a bold mother tiger, is a great choice for classroom units on animals. Hard-working mom elegantly describes how she cares for her newborn kits, providing them with her milk, cleaning their small striped faces with her rough tongue, quietly carrying them off to a new home when she spies a leopard lurking near their den. Then she must feed herself. Exciting scenes depict the hunt for prey, and as the cubs grow, they join in the action. Regan's beautifully rendered lifelike oil and gouache illustrations document the kits' amazing transformation from helpless newborns to spunky cubs to independent tigers. All full-color, double-page spreads, the pictures are highly detailed and will invite repeated browsing. Lauren PetersonCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Tiger Trail | [
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27,589 | 2 | Zalben (Pearl's Eight Days of Chanukah) serves up a middling holiday story, packaged in chapter-book format with atmospheric line drawings. Stanley rubs a long-neglected menorah to a nice shine and releases Fishel the genie, who grants Stanley three wishes. What ensues teaches Stanley the unsurprising lesson that he already has everything he needs for happiness. To borrow from Fishel's sitcom Yiddish ("So? Nu already? What's it going to be?"), the major ingredient here is schmaltz. Ages 7-10. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 3-5-Stanley Green, 12, doesn't look forward to Chanukah. Every year his house is overrun with annoying relatives, and his grandfather, who normally tells the best stories, gets quiet and sad. This year turns out to be different, though. Stanley is sent to the attic to get a package for his grandfather. In it, he finds a tarnished old menorah. As the boy cleans it up, a shabby little old man appears, demands a nosh, and offers three wishes if Stanley can answer three riddles. Stanley doesn't get the right answers, but Fishel lets him wish anyway. Of course, each wish turns out far differently than Stanley anticipates. He learns that Fame and Fortune come in many forms, and realizes that Happiness has been his all along. He also learns something about his family history and why his grandfather is so sad at Chanukah. This short, simple chapter book is filled with details about traditions of the holiday. Hebrew and Yiddish words are sprinkled liberally throughout, with a glossary at the end. The realistic illustrations, vignettes with text wrapped around them, nicely support the story. An entertaining read-aloud that could easily be adapted as a play or reader's theater script.-M. A.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Magic Menorah: A Modern Chanukah Tale | [
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27,590 | 0 | Gr 5-8-This book deals with the most recent ice age and, more specifically, how early humans survived this period. Each chapter addresses an aspect of the lives of "Ice Agers" (as the author calls them) including their food, shelter, tools, hunting, clothing, and art. Although life throughout Europe during this period is touched upon, the author chiefly focuses on those who lived in the Dordogne region in southwestern France. Much of what is known about these people is speculation, based upon the fossil record, cave paintings, and a few artifacts. While the author is careful to separate fact from conjecture, and the chapters on art are particularly good, the book lacks sufficient background information. For instance, the differences between early humans and Neanderthals are only touched upon. Also, the book ends with surprising abruptness. Captioned line drawings, black-and-white photographs, and reproductions appear throughout, and there is an eight-page insert of color photos of cave art and artifacts. Overall, this is a more than adequate summary of humankind during the Ice Age that should prove useful for reports.Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, ILCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 5-8. Cooper's guided tour through the Ice Age begins with a look at the art in the caves at Lascaux. The author then discusses how people of the time dressed, ate, hunted, and housed themselves. A final chapter examines more fully the art that distinguished the period and gives the lie to the "caveman" stereotype. The text is uneven, mostly in terms of tone: it is sometimes awkwardly jaunty, as when Cooper compares Ice-Age people to cartoon cavemen. However, the information is solid, and much of the art is fascinating. Most of the pictures are executed or reproduced in black and white, but an eight-page color inset has handsome pictures of cave art. Most interesting are drawings of human faces carved in stone 1,500 years ago, which look like caricatures one sees being drawn by artists sitting on street corners today. A bibliography completes the useful package; no Web sites are included. Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Exploring the Ice Age | [
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27,591 | 11 | Little Benny Antonelli is "no bigger than a peanut butter sandwich," a real handicap on Third Street, which is peopled with "bus-sized women," "skyscraper-sized men" and "kids taller than streetlights." Newcomer Gordon accentuates the contrast, recording the scene from Benny's perspective on the street as shoes, feet and wheels come at him, the urban skyline rising up to the top of the spread. The object of many a prank (he's taped to a toy airplane, his "worst sister" pins him to the clothesline "along with the Big Antonelli underpants"), Benny has only one defense: to climb street signs, fire escapes, drainpipes and the like. He hits bottom when his aunt mistakes him for a tomato and tosses him into the salad. But he finally gets a chance to shine at his block party's greased pole climb, where he wins the prize: cheese. Anderson's (Speak) urban tall tale is a hoot, from her cheeky take on the woes of runt-hood to her pliant use of exaggeration and sassy street talk ("You got your games, you got your food, you got your music," describes the block party). Gordon picks up on the sly humor and fills his sturdy, uncomplicated cityscapes with comic touches, from the barrel-chested men in their sleeveless undershirts to the looming perspectives that help magnify the scale for diminutive Benny. Ages 5-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Grades 1-3--Young Benny Antonelli is no bigger than a peanut-butter sandwich, while the rest of his family and their friends are the size of buses and skyscrapers. Big people toss him around like a ball, make him walk a gigantic dog, sweep him up with the trash, and put him in a salad thinking that he's a tomato. All the while, the child looks scared, sad, and angry; he feels "Lower than pigeon poop." Then, at the annual block party, the big folks are unable to climb a greased pole and retrieve the cheese from the top. One spread shows them sliding down and falling off-one fellow is nearly mooning readers. The young hero then climbs the pole, recovers the prize, and becomes, "badda-boom, badda-bing.-The Big Cheese of Third Street." This book aims to teach that size doesn't matter and that the little guy can triumph in the end, but the execution is unsuccessful. The stylized, blocky illustrations border on scary, and the tone of the text is flip and smart-alecky, "Geeeesh, what did you think this story was about?" The language throughout imitates the vernacular speech one might expect to hear in sections of Brooklyn, NY. A disappointing effort from this versatile author.Genevieve Gallagher, New York Public LibraryCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Big Cheese of Third Street | [
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27,592 | 11 | Gr 1-4-Joining Ammon and Patrick's previous books about weddings, Christmas, and a year's activities is this story about horses and their role in daily Amish life. As an unnamed boy tells of his days, readers learn about the animals' feeding and shoeing, and the auctions where people come to purchase new ones. There's a moment of gentle humor when the new horse is named Netroy (Pennsylvania Dutch for "not Roy," the name of one of their other horses). A subtext of this calm story is, of course, the plain ways of the Amish, what families do with their days, how they entertain themselves, their speech, and the way the seasons decree the activities. Patrick's rich pastel drawings boldly bordered with red line are warm and quietly compelling and face an eye-pleasing purple and green quilt-patterned border that nicely balances the text. A quarter of the story shows the horse-driven process of planting and making hay, and some readers might wish for a clearer picture of the unique tools, such as a riding planter that punches holes and squirts water while two sisters hand plant tomatoes, or a crimper that wrings moisture from the grass as it is dragged along. Horse lovers, however, will appreciate the artist's luminous and strong renditions of various animals and the informative glossary. A fine addition to the growing shelf of books about the Amish and their lives.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Richard Ammon enjoys reading, fly-fishing, playing a euphonium in a brass ensemble, ice hockey, and driving his Old Order Amish friends to horse sales. He is also the author of An Amish Christmas, An Amish Wedding, and An Amish Year, all illustrated by Pamela Patrick. He has two grown daughters and lives in Middletown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Jeannie, a middle-school librarian.; Title: Amish Horses | [
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27,593 | 0 | Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novelMissing Mayreceived the Newbery Medal. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Visit her at CynthiaRylant.com.; Title: Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night (Ready-to-Read, Level 2) | [
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27,594 | 16 | The thinking's not fuzzy in these board books, but the animals certainly are. Sandra Boynton's familiar furry creatures introduce simple concepts in this bright collection of four books, replete with clever line drawings. In Horns and Toes and In Between, three horned monsters teach the parts of the body in rhyme: "...and we have a fuzzy TUMMY that we all like to pat / and a little BELLY BUTTON in the middle of that." The Going to Bed Book gets a Noah's Ark of animals organized for bed: "They hang their towels on the wall / and find pajamas, big and small." Opposites is just that: cute animals "high and low / fast and slow / heavy and light / day and night." In the rhyming reader But Not the Hippopotamus, a hippo finds himself on the outs as "a cat and two rats are trying on hats. / But not the hippopotamus. / A moose and a goose together have juice. / But not the hippopotamus." Rest assured the hippo finds love at the end. (Baby to preschool) --Claire DedererSandra Boynton is a popular American humorist, songwriter, childrens author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated more than forty books for both children and adults, as well as more than four thousand greeting cards and four music albums. She has designedfor various companiescalendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys.; Title: Boynton's Greatest Hits: Volume II (The Going to Bed Book, Horns to Toes, Opposites, But Not the Hippopotamus) | [
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27,595 | 2 | Grade 3-6-A lackluster collection of stories. "Message in the Music" is a particularly disappointing selection about a slave on a North Carolina plantation. Sally learns that her younger brother is going to be sold and decides that they must run away. In an overly simple plot, she easily flees, nurses her sick brother back to health, and finds fellow escaped slaves. "Dead Wrong," a story about a girl who lives in a Canadian lumber camp, offers a bit more excitement. Overall, though, the selections are just too neatly tied together and the characters too flat to inspire many readers. This title may appeal to the "American Girls" (Pleasant Company) crowd, but they will quickly move on to more challenging fare. Virginia Hamilton's Her Stories (Scholastic, 1995) is a much better anthology.Julie Shatterly, York County Public Library, Rock Hill, SC Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.It is refreshing to see new girl-friendly twists on old themes that empower girls to believe in themselves and their abilities. (Jeanette S. Gadeberg, Author of Raising Strong Daughters)"Provides positive female role models.(Nicole Bondi, The Detroit News)Girls to the Rescue will please and inspire girls." (Womens Circle)Forget about glass slippers and helpless damsels. The moral of this story is: Girls can do anything, even save the day! (Peggy Orenstein, author of School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap)Girls to the Rescue is a powerful antidote to all those helpless, hopeless princess stories. These stories are amusing, poignant, inspiring, and ultimately healing. (Mary Pipher, Ph.D., author of Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls)Inspiring. (Mary Hance, Nashville Banner)Must reading. (Lee Littlewood, Copley News Service)Delightful. (Lynn Gibson, Spokane Spokesman-Review)Inspiring reading. (Kansas City Star)Girls to the Rescue turns a new page and Prince Charming is history. (Sallie Han, New York Daily News); Title: Girls to the Rescue, Book #6: Tales of Clever, Courageous Girls from Around the World (Girls to the Rescue (Paperback)) | [
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27,596 | 1 | Carle's trademark tissue-paper collages dress up a story that packs a lesson about counting up and counting down. Ages 4-8. (June) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Eric Carle is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of more than seventy books for very young children, including The Tiny Seed, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, and his most well-known title, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old. He studied at the prestigious art school, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart, before returning to the United States, where he worked as a graphic designer for the New York Times and later as art director for an advertising agency. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, now considered a modern classic, has sold nearly fifty million copies and has been translated into sixty-five languages. With his late wife, Barbara, Eric Carle cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2002. Eric Carle lives in the Florida Keys.; Title: Rooster's Off to See the World (The World of Eric Carle) | [
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... | Train |
27,597 | 2 | After wrongly accusing a boy--an African American boyof stealing his brother's jacket, Phil--a white boy--has some hard thinking to do. And a tough question for his mom: "How come you never told me I was prejudiced?" This seemingly small school incident turns into a painful, but ultimately satisfying, learning opportunity for the sixth grader, as he explores the myriad influences in his life and the way his thought patterns have formed... and finds a new friend in the process. The intellectual evolution Phil goes through may be somewhat facile for a child his age, but Andrew Clements's message will undoubtedly hit home for many readers. This is exactly the kind of situation that arises every day in schools (and offices and buses) all over the world. Clements is the author of many highly acclaimed children's books, including The Janitor's Boy and Frindle. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie CoulterOriginally serialized in the Boston Globe, Clements's (Frindle; The School Story) brief, instructive tale centers on a sixth-grader who one day realizes that he is prejudiced. When Phil spies Daniel, an African-American schoolmate, wearing a jacket identical to one that his mother bought him in Italy (and that Phil had passed down to his younger brother), he assumes that Daniel has stolen the coat. After tussling in the hall, the two sort things out in the principal's office, where Daniel reveals that his jacket was a gift from his grandmother, Lucy; as it turns out, the woman who for years has cleaned Phil's house is Daniel's grandmother. Learning that the jacket now legitimately belongs to Daniel, Phil questions his actions ("What if Daniel had been a white kid? Would I have grabbed him like that?"). The lad's quandary deepens when he suddenly recognizes that his father is, quite blatantly, a bigot. Though lacking subtlety, the story pointedly delivers a timely message and can serve as a springboard for dialogue about tolerance and self-honesty. Clements makes his point without didacticism and with just the right amount of emotion. Ages 8-12.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Jacket | [
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27,598 | 16 | Margaret Miller is the author and photographer of many books for children. My Five Senses was chosen as an "Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children" in 1995, and was a Booklist "Editor's Choice" selection for 1994. Her Look Baby series has been raved about in Publisher's Weekly and Parenting Magazine.; Title: I Love Colors (Look Baby! Books) | [
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31... | Train |
27,599 | 1 | John S. Goodall was born in Norfolk, England, and began to draw and paint when he was four years old. He attended the Royal Academy School of Art in London and began painting in watercolors in India during World War II. Upon his return to England, he painted portraits of members of the royal family. Mr. Goodall created his first children's books informally for his daughter and granddaughter, devising a new format in which he alternated full and half pages of watercolor illustration. In all, Goodall created more than thirty-five wordless picture books for children, including stories about Paddy Pork, Shrewbettina, and Naughty Nancy, as well as such titles as The Story of a Farm, The Story of a Main Street, and Great Days of a Country House.; Title: The MIDNIGHT ADVENTURES OF KELLY, DOT, AND ESMERALDA | [
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